Table Of ContentA persuasive and important challenge to current thinking on sports diplomacy.
Stuart Murray’s book is path-b reaking and draws upon a breadth of interactions
with governments, diplomats and the world of sport. For those who question and
acknowledge the role of sport in making the politics of the possible, possible this
is a significant and timely tour de force. The author is arguably one of the world’s
leading authorities on sports diplomacy and this recent endeavour is a must read
for those working in politics, cultural relations and sport.
Professor Grant Jarvie, Chair of Sport,
University of Edinburgh, Scotland
Stuart Murray has succeeded in producing a thoughtful and comprehensive study
of the relationships between sport and diplomacy. He ranges from the traditional
to the contemporary in a story which he tells with clarity, originality and good
humour. This will be an indispensable title for anyone interested in how the
worlds of diplomacy and sport use, and are used by, each other.
Professor Paul Sharp, Head of Political Science,
University of Minnesota Duluth, USA
This book provides a lively, engaging and much needed account of the deep and
enduring relationship between sport and diplomacy. Stuart Murray provides
analytical clarity and insights from the field to highlight the potential and pitfalls
of “sport diplomacy” as a tool for bringing people and communities together. In
doing so, he reminds us of the value of innovation in diplomacy, particularly for
today’s ever- changing world. An important piece of interdisciplinary scholarship,
this book will be of great interest to diplomats, scholars and sportspeople alike.
Professor Caitlin Byrne, Director,
Griffith Asia Institute, Australia
Stuart Murray’s groundbreaking book opens another societal dimension to the
practice of diplomacy. Sports diplomacy as humanist endeavour provides a uni-
versal, unifying and peaceful impact on transnational communities. It adds a
vivid tool to the diversity of diplomacy and strengthens the attraction towards its
enlarging epistemic community.
Ambassador (ret.) Wilfried Bolewski, Professor of International Law
and Diplomacy, Sciences Po Paris, France
Stuart Murray’s tome is an important, timely and thorough contribution to both
the theory and practice of Sports Diplomacy. An impressive example of interdis-
ciplinary scholarship, this book covers most aspects of the fascinating, storied
and complex relationships between sport, diplomacy and human societies.
Dr. Simon Rofe, Global Diplomacy Programme Director,
SOAS, University of London, UK
Sports Diplomacy
This book offers an accessible overview of the role sport plays in international
relations and diplomacy.
Sports diplomacy has previously been defined as an old but under- studied
aspect of the estranged relations between peoples, nations and states. These days,
it is better understood as the conscious, strategic and ongoing use of sport,
sports people and sporting events by state and non- state actors to advance policy,
trade, development, education, image, reputation, brand and people- to-people
links. In order to better understand the many occasions where sport and diplo-
macy overlap, this book presents four new, interdisciplinary and theoretical cat-
egories of sports diplomacy: traditional, ‘new’, sport-a s-diplomacy, and sports
anti- diplomacy. These categories are further validated by a large number of case
studies, ranging from the Ancient Olympiad to the recent appearance of esoteric,
government sports diplomacy strategies, and beyond, to the activities of non-
state sporting actors such as F.C. Barcelona, Colin Kaepernick and the digital
world of e- sports. As a result, the landscape of sports diplomacy becomes
clearer, as do the pitfalls and limitations of using sport as a diplomatic tool.
This book will be of much interest to students of diplomacy, foreign policy,
sports studies and International Relations in general.
Stuart Murray is an Associate Professor at Bond University, Australia. He is
also a Fellow of the Academy of Sport at Edinburgh University, UK and Associ-
ate Editor of the journal Diplomacy & Foreign Policy.
Routledge New Diplomacy Studies
Series Editors: Corneliu Bjola
University of Oxford
and
Markus Kornprobst
Diplomatic Academy of Vienna
This series publishes theoretically challenging and empirically authoritative
studies of the traditions, functions, paradigms and institutions of modern diplo-
macy. Taking a comparative approach, the New Diplomacy Studies series aims
to advance research on international diplomacy, publishing innovative accounts
of how ‘old’ and ‘new’ diplomats help steer international conduct between
anarchy and hegemony, handle demands for international stability versus inter-
national justice, facilitate transitions between international orders, and address
global governance challenges. Dedicated to the exchange of different scholarly
perspectives, the series aims to be a forum for inter- paradigm and interdiscipli-
nary debates, and an opportunity for dialogue between scholars and
practitioners.
Chinese Public Diplomacy
The Rise of the Confucius Institute
Falk Hartig
Gender and Diplomacy
Edited by Jennifer A. Cassidy
Secret Diplomacy
Concepts, Contexts and Cases
Edited by Corneliu Bjola and Stuart Murray
Diplomatic Cultures and International Politics
Translations, Spaces and Alternatives
Edited by Jason Dittmer and Fiona McConnell
Sports Diplomacy
Origins, Theory and Practice
Stuart Murray
For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/
Routledge-N ew-Diplomacy-S tudies/book- series/RNDS
Sports Diplomacy
Origins, Theory and Practice
Stuart Murray
First published 2018
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2018 Stuart Murray
The right of Stuart Murray to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-i n-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing- in-Publication Data
Names: Murray, Stuart, author.
Title: Sports diplomacy : origins, theory and practice / Stuart Murray.
Description: First edition. | Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, 2018. |
Series: Routledge new diplomacy studies | Includes bibliographical
references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018005793 | ISBN 9780815356905 (hardback) |
ISBN 0815356900 (hardback) | ISBN 9781351126960 (ebook) |
ISBN 1351126962 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sports and state–History. | Diplomacy–Social aspects. |
International relations–Social aspects.
Classification: LCC GV706.35 .M86 2018 | DDC 306.4/83–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005793
ISBN: 978-0-8153-5690-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-12696-0 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
For Cammy Murray, the ultimate sportsman and diplomat
Contents
Acknowledgements xii
Introduction 1
Framing sports diplomacy 1
Re- conceptualising sports diplomacy: towards a new,
quadripartite framework 6
Aims, theory and parameters 8
Let the games begin 9
PART I
Sport, diplomacy and traditional sports diplomacy 15
1 A revised anthropology of diplomacy 17
Framing and challenging the stereotype of diplomacy and
diplomats 17
A revised anthropology of diplomacy 20
From the cave to the conference table: the long and storied
diplomatic continuum 22
Traditional diplomacy defined 29
2 The essence of sport 37
Is cheese rolling actually a sport? 37
The great leveller: sport, anthropology and early human
societies 39
The impact of Greece and Rome on sport 45
Sport in modern times 50
Sport defined 52
