Interconnectedness Between the Olympic Games and Politics - Essay Example

Interconnectedness between the Olympic Games and Politics Name Institution Course Date Historically, the Olympics have been used as a mechanism for political agendas” Discuss this statement in relation to the interconnectedness of leisure, sport, and politics Sports make up an important part of the modern life (Coakley, 2001, p. 4). They have brought different people from different regions together through shared experiences. Leisure time has promoted the need for sporting activities. Although considered the pillar of global interconnectivity, historically, sports have been used to advance political agendas which have led to both positive and negative consequences (Mason, 2012). And as such, sports are tools that reinforce globalization while articulating political chase in regards to nationality and ethnicity. Political agendas have been witnessed more so in the Olympic Games over the years. These games are important due to their political, economic and social benefits that they bring to participative countries. However, they have been surrounded by politics. Political issues arise in the Olympic Games due to their size as well as the heightened media coverage. This essay will illustrate the interconnectedness between leisure, sports and politics. It will also offer historical evidence to illustrate that Olympic Games have been used to pursue political agendas. The historical accounts have offered different perspectives of what leisure is. According to Veal (1992), leisure can be described in time, activity and attitude perspective. In Australia, the concept of time is ruled by economic factors like the need to go back to school at a given time or the opening of offices. Also, another factor that has governed the rhythm of time is religion since Christmas among other holidays is used as a day of rest. Therefore, in this regard, leisure is the spare time when economic activities and personal work have been handled. It is simply defined as the time left when home-care and economic duties have been attended to. In activity perspective, leisure involves activities that give the feeling of relaxation such as tourism, gaming, recreation, sports and socializing (Veal, 1992, p. 4). On the other hand, leisure phenomenon in attitude perspective is the activities that are conducted for one’s self without any obligation. It is an activity that an individual undertakes for enjoyment or self-satisfaction. Therefore, leisure is a relatively freely undertaken activity at spare time for self-enjoyment. According to Veal (1992), leisure is far from being an isolated sphere since it makes up an important part of the society. And as such, leisure is not just a lingering category of activity; it is a domain of activity that takes a fundamental role in shaping the pattern of the wider economy, work and politics. Leisure is considered a tool that shapes and is shaped by political agenda. For instance, sports in Australia gained popularity in the 18th century and have greatly influenced the economic, cultural and political agenda of the country. An example is how traditional aboriginal sports and culture have influenced contemporary political actions to secure land ownership. The spiritual ties of the Aboriginal people with the land and their culture has motivated contemporary actions in Australia (Veal and Lynch, 2012, p. 4). Also, the influence of leisure is evident in most Western countries. For instance, public holidays such as Christmas and Halloween have become an integral part of many countries with the government investing capital to develop public recreation facilities for leisure time in these holidays (Veal and Lynch, 2012, p. 4). One important activity that constitutes leisure in Australia is sports. Sport is a very popular leisure quest among children and adults and plays an important role in the development and enjoyment of leisure behaviours and understanding. There are numerous definitions of sports that have been used by different scholars. For instance, Coakley (2001) has defined sports as “an institutionalized competitive activities that involve rigorous physical exertion or the use of relatively complex physical skills by participants motivated by personal enjoyment and external rewards” (p. 21). Generally, sports are physical activities and activities that may not be considered as sports such as ballet and cheerleading fall under this definition. Most cultures consider that childhood is a time to take part in play and it is only through sports such as football, dancing and baseball that children learn and develop. Being a physical activity, any sport allows for physical, emotional and cognitive development (Schmalz and Kerstetter, 2006, p. 1). Sports in Australia are considered important contributions of the economy. For instance, Olympics are among the highest generator of revenue to a country. It attracts people from different regions which facilitate the opportunity for tourism. In Australia, most team sports operate under the labour market controls which ensure the development of even and financially stable leagues. The National Rugby League operates with a salary cap while the Australian Football League’s (AFL) operate with draft systems and salary cap (Davies, 2011, p. 1). This illustrates how sports and politics are interconnected. The Olympics have been in existence for many years now. They represent a media event, important show-pieces that promote social inclusion, a reflection of economic and social development, and a reflection of political agendas (Wallace, 2011, p. 25). The International Olympic Committee argues that political agendas have no place in Olympic Games. However, as evident in the past, the committee has failed to prevent politics from interfering with such events. According to Moretti (2013), the Olympic Games assist in uniting people from different countries. They were formed to assist in connecting different countries together and put politics behind and compete athletically. Nevertheless, numerous incidences in the past show how the Olympic Games are used as tools to stir political agendas. For instance, the Olympic Games in 1980 and 1984 showed how they are used as leverage when countries disagree. Also, the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan and the discrepancies between political leaders play a huge role in the boycott of the Olympic Games (Moretti, 2013, p. 6). The Olympic Games are used as a “silent war tools”. In the past, countries taking part in the games used them to isolate enemies or create economic and political relationships with other states. Being among the most multi-cultural sport activities, Olympic Games raise tension between different states. According to Mason (2012), political issues tend to arise since nations with opposing cultural and political beliefs are forced to come together. The interconnectedness between politics and Olympic Games takes different forms. Internal politics such as internal opposition to holding the event causes tension and large protest. One way that shows how political force interferes with the Olympic Games is nationalism (Mason, 2012, p.2). The high level of nationalism in these games creates political issues. For instance, due to the heightened media coverage and the large number of participative countries, Olympic Games offer a great chance for leaders to advance political agendas and amplify political tension between nations. Ancient Greek Olympic Games suffered less when it came to political interference compared to Olympic Games today. The Greek Olympic Games were considered religious festivals since people believed that participating in such games would assist them achieve skills, pride and nobility (Mason, 2012, p.2). Before these games started, a peace treaty was spread to different states. This peace treaty was binding, but political tension between different countries threatened the applicability and seriousness of the treaty. Even with the peace treaty in place, it was difficult to separate the games from political agendas. The Greek Olympic Games were tools for creating political alliance (Mason, 2012, p.2). In addition, after the Cold War, there emerged a conflict between the Soviet Union and the American government. This conflict endured until early 1990s when the Soviet Union fall. The conflict was fought with threats and was passed from leaders to leaders of different countries. In the 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan due to their refusal to cooperate to stabilize the government (Moretti, 2013, p. 8). This led to the United States denouncing the Soviet Union and started supporting groups and countries that were against them. This commotion occurred months before the Olympic Games in Moscow. Different countries such as Saudi Arabia, Germany, the United States and Canada decided to boycott the Olympics due to the decision of the Soviet Union to invade Afghanistan. Four years later during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the Soviet Union boycotted the event as a revenge plan. However, in 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed which led to the end of the communist Germany (Moretti, 2013, p. 8). Although much has changed since that time, it is evident from the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games that political agendas are incorporated in such events. Modern Olympic Games have changed from the Ancient games. They have become global events that involve different countries. The games have been divided into winter and summer and different activities that were not considered sports have been added in the games (Mason, 2012, p.4). Today, these games have been stricken with political agendas than before. Although most political interferences are considered negative, some good political aspects have been witnessed in the Olympic Games. Countries through these games are able to raise their social status and form good relationships with other nations. Argentina government used these games to improve its image while the United States used tennis games to enhance their relationship with China. Within the midst of positive politics, the negative aspects are hard to ignore since they lead to wars and mass killings. During the Munich Games in the 1972, Arab terrorists killed Israeli Olympians. In the Olympic Games in Mexico in 1968, students who were protesting against Apartheid were shot and killed by the government. To eliminate such negative impacts, it is important for the International Olympic Committee to diminish politics from Olympic Games (Mason, 2012, p.4). In conclusion, leisure, sports and politics are intertwined. They are connected to each other although efforts have been put in place to eliminate the influence of politics over games. Sport has been used as a tool to influence political relations although it has assisted in eliminating cultural differences. The relationship between politics and sports has both positive and negative consequences. Coherently, sports such as the Olympic Games have been used to bring positive change and heighten relationships between different countries. Nevertheless, they have been used to cause tension between countries and pursue war. Therefore, politics in sports is an inevitable endeavour and the sooner the International Olympic Committee accepts it, the sooner the negative impacts can be avoided. The knowledge that politics interfere with sports will assist the committee to prevent events like Mexico and Munich massacre. Form the evidences presented in the paper, it can be concluded that the Olympic Games have been used to pursue political agendas. References Coakley, J 2001, Sport in society: Issues and controversies (7th ed.), Boston, McGraw Hill Davies, C 2011, Draft Systems and Salary Caps in Australia Sport, James Cook University, Legal Studies Conference, pp. 1-5. Mason, D 2012, Politics in the Olympic Games. [online] Available at: http://blogs.longwood.edu/daniellemason/files/2013/02/Politics-in-the-Olympic-Games.pdf. [Accessed 20 Jul. 2017]. Moretti, A 2013, The Interference of Politics in the Olympic Games, and How the U.S. Media Contribute to it. Global Media Journal, vol. 2, no. 6, p. 5-18. Schmalz, D.L & Kerstetter, D.L 2006, Girlie Girls and Manly Men: Children’s Stigma Consciousness of Gender in Sports and Physical Activities. Journal of Leisure Research, 4(38), pp. 536-557. Veal, A & Lynch, R 2012, Australian Leisure, Sydney, P.ED AUSTRALIA. Veal, A.J 1992, Definition of Leisure and Recreation: School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism. Australian Journal of Leisure and Recreation, vol. 4, no. 2, p. 44-42. Wallace A. D 2001, More than a Game: The Carlisle Indians Take to the Gridiron, 1893-1917. Western Historical Quarterly, vol. 1, no. 32, pp. 25-53. Read More