David B. Kanin - A Political History of the Olympic Games

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A Political History of the Olympic Games

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A Political History of the Oly m p ic Games

David B. Kanin

The turmoil surrounding the 1980 Olympic Games, says the author, was nothing new--it was merely the most recent, and most complex, manifestation of the political content of modern sport. Despite the mythology perpetrated by Olympic publicists, the modern Olympic Games were founded with expressly political goals in mind and continue to thrive on ties to global affairs. Political content, insists Kanin, is not an intrusion on sport from outside--it is a fundamental underpinning of the Olympic system.

Proceeding from this premise, the author analyzes each Olympic festival as part of its political and diplomatic environment. He traces the political history of the Olympic Games from their origins in 1896, examines the 1980 Olympic imbroglio, looks ahead to 1984, and comments on some proposals for Olympic reform.

As a political analyst for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, David B. Kanin has had access to information enabling him to present a unique perspective on the events surrounding the 1980 Moscow Olympics and U.S. boycott effort. In addition to his work with the CIA, he has taught in the Political Science Departments of Boston College and Framingham State College, both in Massachusetts.

A Political History of the Olympic Games

David B. Kanin

First published 1981 by Westview Press, Inc.

Published 2018 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright 1981 Taylor & Francis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 81-4164

ISBN 13: 978-0-367-01855-9 (hbk)

Contents

1. iii

Guide

I will try to make two points in this analysis: first, that the politics of sport comes from the natural political content of the modern sport system; second, that each Olympic Games is an inherently political event. Dating the "mixing" of politics and the Olympics from 1908, 1936, or 1972 leaves the impression that once upon a time the Games were truly free of political "interference." In fact, despite the mythology of Olympic publicists, the Olympic Games were founded with expressly political goals in mind and have thrived on ties to global affairs. It is no coincidence that the two Olympiads that were most ignored by politicians, in 1900 and 1904, were also the least successful.

Therefore, calls for the separation of sport and politics are futile because they are irrelevant. One of the primary errors of those seeking support for the 1980 Olympic boycott was to give lip service to those calls rather than repudiate them.

This work investigates a curious slice of history within its political context. It is not an exhaustive history of the Games, nor of political sport in general (the Olympics are only the most famous events in a vast network of political competitions). Rather, it is an attempt to apply traditional methods of historical analysis to a relatively neglected area of concern to students of politics (as opposed to the trend of applying overarching "methodology" to traditional areas of interest) .

D.B.K.

Exposition of the following terms results from a conceptual framework subsuming organized sport in its political context:

PLAY : Play can be defined as activities which are voluntary within limits of time and space with uncertain and unproductive outcomes. Play stands outside ordinary life and yet involves the participant utterly and intensely.

Present definitions or play pay great attention to its social aspects. Jean Piaget saw pure play as not involving any conflict. To him, play is the phenomenon of the ego working out its problems; only in its social context can it give rise to the seeds of conflict or competition.

Other authors recognize that play, as a social phenomenon, is part of a hierarchy of leisure activities. Once competition and, perhaps, stakes enter into the equation, scholars must enter the realm of games and sport.

GAME : Games are rulebound and competitive activities in which there are material or psychological stakes to be won or lost as a result of the competition.

SPORT : There are many definitions of sport and many problems of defining it in its proper political context. The oversimplification of sport as an extension of "game," for example, is a common one. Sport has been described as "a set of rules institutionalized in games, or in any game occurance or event."definitions take the role of sport in society into account. For Richard Sipes, sport is

a physical activity (1) engaged in primarily for amusement or recreation, (2) with no ostensible religious ritual or subsistenceactivity training significance, and (3) involving at least two adult individuals.

This is better, but the extreme youth of the world's greatest female gymnasts brings maturity into question as a criterion, and the activities of "Athletes in Action" certainly link religion and sport. The definition as a whole leaves out the necessary elements of competition and rulebounaedness. Sport is a rulebound, competitive set of activities with uncertain outcomes engaged in for non-occupational purposes. Professional sport is a contradiction in terms, except regarding spectators and weekend gamblers.

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