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Planning for the worst: risk, uncertainty and the Olympic Games
Philip Boyle1, Kevin D Haggerty
1Global Urban Research Unit, University of Alberta, Canada.
The British Journal of Sociology
|June 8, 2012
Summary
Olympic security displays are crafted for public consumption, aiming to assure maximum safety amid uncertainty. This study reveals how authorities manage perceptions of security through communication and staged events.
Area of Science:
- Sociology of Security
- Political Science
- Olympic Studies
Background:
- Olympic Games security has become highly visible, evolving since the 1972 Munich Olympics.
- Contemporary Olympic security displays are often intentionally staged for public perception.
- This visibility reflects broader governmental strategies for demonstrating security capabilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the expressive dimension of Olympic security as a means of managing public perception.
- To investigate how authorities project an image of maximum security under conditions of uncertainty.
- To understand the rhetorical strategies used to transform uncertainty into manageable risks.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of discursive practices by 'managers of unease'.
- Examination of stylized demonstration projects in Olympic security.
- Study of the creation and use of 'fantasy documents' in security management.
Main Results:
- Authorities emphasize planning for worst-case scenarios, despite practical impossibility.
- Discursive strategies transform uncertainty into perceived manageable risks.
- Staged security performances aim to maintain rhetorical control over uncertain situations.
Conclusions:
- The 'showing' of security is a performance to assure the public of safety.
- These performances can paradoxically increase uncertainty, driving further securitization.
- Understanding these displays offers insights into broader governance of risk and security.
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