Question
Are international sports war by another name?
Answer
The question of whether international sports are akin to war is complex and multifaceted. While sports can serve as a peaceful means of competition, they often carry nationalistic and political undertones that can resemble conflict.
Nationalism and Conflict
International sports can amplify nationalism, which may lead to increased state aggression. For instance, surges of nationalism during events like the World Cup have been linked to political or military conflicts, as seen in the case of Senegal in 2002 (Bertoli, 2017). This suggests that sports can sometimes act as a catalyst for conflict, similar to war.
Sports as Political Tools
Sports have historically been used as instruments of “soft power” to assert political dominance. The Olympic Games, for example, have been arenas for geopolitical confrontations, such as the Cold War-era competitions between the USSR and the USA, which were seen as “Olympic wars” (Speransky, 2024). This use of sports as a political argument mirrors the strategic maneuvers seen in warfare.
Metaphorical Connections
The language and metaphors used in sports often draw parallels to war. Terms like “battles,” “tactics,” and “victories” are common in sports discourse, reinforcing the idea of sports as a surrogate for war (Jansen and Sabo, 1994; Hanh, Huong and Hien, 2022). This metaphorical framing can influence public perception, equating sports competitions with military conflicts.
Surrogate War
Sports can act as a form of surrogate war, where states engage in non-traditional conflict to achieve political aims. This concept extends to other areas like technological development, highlighting how sports can be a platform for international contestation (D’Agati, 2018).
Conflict Resolution
Conversely, sports have also been used as tools for conflict resolution. In Papua New Guinea, football was introduced as a means to settle disputes peacefully, although it sometimes led to renewed conflicts when competitive tensions ran high (Schwoerer, 2020).
Conclusion
While international sports are not wars in the literal sense, they share several characteristics with warfare, including nationalism, political maneuvering, and metaphorical language. They can both exacerbate and resolve conflicts, serving as a complex arena where national pride and political interests intersect.
References
Bertoli, A., 2017. Nationalism and Conflict: Lessons from International Sports. International Studies Quarterly, 61, pp. 835-849. https://doi.org/10.1093/ISQ/SQX029
Speransky, A., 2024. OLYMPIC WARS BETWEEN THE USSR AND THE USA: SPORT AS A POLITICAL ARGUMENT. Ural Historical Journal. https://doi.org/10.30759/1728-9718-2024-4(85)-175-184
Jansen, S., & Sabo, D., 1994. The sport/war metaphor: hegemonic masculinity, the Persian Gulf War, and the new world order.. Sociology of Sport Journal, 11, pp. 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1123/SSJ.11.1.1
D’Agati, P., 2018. Surrogate war: politics of conflict in sports and space. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 10, pp. 451 – 467. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2017.1410208
Schwoerer, T., 2020. A continuation of warfare by sportive means: settling conflicts through football in the Eastern Highlands of colonial New Guinea. Soccer & Society, 22, pp. 757 – 768. https://doi.org/10.1080/14660970.2020.1860949
Hanh, N., Huong, L., & Hien, P., 2022. Conceptual metaphor sport as war in Vietnamese football news. Cognitive Linguistic Studies. https://doi.org/10.1075/cogls.20010.han
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Andrews, D. L. and Wagg, S. (2007) Introduction: war minus the shooting? In S. Wagg and D. L. Andrews (Eds.), East Plays West: Sport and the Cold War. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, pp. 1-10.
Houlihan, B. (2000) Politics and sport. In J. Coakley and E. Dunning (Eds.), Handbook of Sports Studies. London: Sage, pp. 213-227.
Malec, M. (1993) Patriotic symbols in intercollegiate sports during the Gulf War: A Research note. Sociology of Sport Journal 5, pp. 197-211.
Straub, S. K. and Overton, J. (2012) The symbolic politics of Olympic cheating scandals: Representing international tensions in sport. International Journal of Sport & Society 3(4), pp. 65-78.
