Post-Cold War Olympic Geopolitics: Territorial Conflicts Reflected and Reinforced in the Olympic Games

Abstract

The link between politics and sporting events is a phenomenon that has an effect not only on interstate relations but also on the internal politics of States, particularly those that host these events. This article aims to explore the political potential of sports in today's world, especially the role of the Olympic Games in the international scene in a post-Cold War geopolitical context. The article analyzes an iconic ritual of this mega-wind, the Olympic torch relay, seeking to present it as a tool used for territorial claims in sovereignty disputes, through what we call territorial sewing. For this, four editions of the Olympics were central to the research, since conflicts of a political-territorial nature were identified: Barcelona, ​​1992; Beijing in 2008; London in 2012; and Tokyo in 2020. The research methodology combines two strategies: mapping and analysis of the spatial selection of cities chosen for the passing of the Olympic torch and carrying out a survey of the collections of local newspapers of each Olympic venue during the period of the Games. For methodological triangulation, official materials from the Olympic Games and from the Olympic committees were analyzed. In this way, the geopolitical character of the Olympic system is exposed through this specific ritual of the Games and the importance of sports in the world political scenario is exalted.