Sports mega-events and changing world order

Area of Science:

• Global Politics and Development
• International Relations Theory

Background:

• World orders are constantly made, sustained, reformed, and unmade.
• Neo-Gramscian tradition emphasizes the interplay of ideas, institutions, and material capabilities in shaping global orders.
• Sports mega-events (SMEs), particularly the Olympic Games, have played an underappreciated role in these processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the role of the Olympic Games in the rise and reconfiguration of globalized neoliberal hegemony.
• To analyze the evolution of world orders from the 1980s to the new millennium through the lens of SMEs.
• To highlight the dual nature of SMEs as symbols of consumption and prestige, and as platforms for political action like boycotts.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of historical events and political discourse.
• Application of neo-Gramscian theoretical framework.
• Examination of the Olympic Games as a case study within global political and economic shifts.

Main Results:

• The Olympics manifested and supported the rise of globalized neoliberal hegemony in the early 1980s.
• The Olympic Games were instrumental in the reconfiguration and erosion of this order through the 1990s and 2000s.
• SMEs served as focal points for both conspicuous consumption and prestige, as well as for sanctions campaigns and boycotts, indicating their complex role in world order dynamics.

Conclusions:

• Sports mega-events are significant, yet underappreciated, actors in the processes of constructing and contesting global world orders.
• The Olympic Games exemplify the dual role of SMEs in reflecting and shaping geopolitical and economic hegemony.
• Understanding SMEs' multifaceted impact is crucial for analyzing contemporary global politics and development.