Nation, state and identity in international sport

Iorwerth, Hywel; Hardman, Alun; Jones, Carwyn

doi:10.1080/14608944.2014.897316

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…The first strand mainly concerns the alleged marketisation of citizenship (see Iorwerth et al, 2014;Jansen et al, forthcoming;Kostakopoulou and Schrauwen, 2014;Shachar, 2011;Shachar and Hirschl, 2014;Spiro, 2014), whereas the second strand of debate is primarily concerned with the question of nationhood (Adjaye, 2010;Black, 2016;Campbell, 2011;Poli, 2007).…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nationality swapping in the Olympic Games 1978–2017: A supervised machine learning approach to analysing discourses of citizenship and nationhood

Jansen

2018

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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While the practice of nationality swapping in sports traces back as far as the Ancient Olympics, it seems to have increased over the past decades. Cases of Olympic athletes who switched their national allegiances are often surrounded with controversy. Two strands of thought could help explain this controversy. First, these cases are believed to be indicative of the marketisation of citizenship. Second, these cases challenge established discourses of national identity as the question 'who may represent the nation?' becomes contested. Using state-of-the-art machine learning techniques, I analysed 1534 English language newspaper articles about Olympic athletes who changed their nationalities . The results indicate: (i) that switching national allegiance has not necessarily become more controversial; (ii) that most media reports do not frame nationality switching in economic terms; and (iii) that nationality swapping often occurs fairly unnoticed. I therefore conclude that a marketisation of citizenship is less apparent in nationality switching than some claim. Moreover, nationality switches are often mentioned rather casually, indicating the generally banal character of nationalism. Only under certain conditions does 'hot' nationalism spark the issue of nationhood.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nationality swapping in the Olympic Games 1978–2017: A supervised machine learning approach to analysing discourses of citizenship and nationhood

Jansen

2018

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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“…Unionists -naysayers -will find in them evidence that strength lies in brotherhood, interdependence and diversity. (Adams, The Observer, 2014) This position thus reflects the arguments of other academics regarding the dualistic symbolism of major sporting events such as the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games (Iorwerth et al, 2014;Jarvie, 2017;McDowell and Skillen, 2017;Mole, 2014;Polley, 2014), illustrating that any attempts to use the symbolism of the independence of other Commonwealth nations for political gain would ultimately constitute a zero-sum game for political campaigners. Indeed, the Commonwealth Games were generally contended to represent a campaign break in the referendum debate, with agreement in numerous print media reflections that explicit politicisation of the Games was avoided (Adams, 2014;Addley, 2014;Daily Record, 2014a;Hardman, 2014).…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 71%

“…In particular, their analysis highlights the contradictory political symbolism evident within media discourse of the event, echoing the arguments of others regarding the dualistic symbolism of the 2012 and 2014 Games (Iorwerth et al, 2014;McDowell and Skillen, 2017;Polley, 2014). To this end, Harris and Skillen (2016: 92) remark:…”

Section: Glasgow 2014 -The (Post)imperial Symbolism Of the Commonwealmentioning

confidence: 91%

Glasgow 2014, the media and Scottish politics: The (post)imperial symbolism of the Commonwealth Games

Whigham

Black

2018

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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This article critically examines print media discourses regarding the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The forthcoming analysis considers the political symbolism of the Commonwealth Games with regards to the interlinkages between the British Empire, sport and the global political status of the UK, with specific consideration given to the UK's declining global power as well as the interconnections between the 2014 Games and the Scottish independence referendum. Hechter's (1975) 'internal colonialism' thesis, which portrays Scotland's marginalised status within the UK, is drawn upon to critically explore the political symbolism of sport for Scottish nationalism, before discussion focuses upon the extent to which the modern Commonwealth is symptomatic of the UK's declining status as a global power. Finally, 3 the existence of these narrative tropes in print media coverage of the Commonwealth Games is examined, allowing for critical reflections on the continuing interconnections between the media, sport, nationalism and post-imperial global politics.

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“…Harris and Skillen's (2016) reflection on the interconnection between sport and the referendum places similar emphasis on the nature of these political interventions regarding the Olympics, contending that '[w]ith the referendum looming ever closer, it was clear that competing claims for these medal winners was going to become an ever-present issue' (ibid: 84). This highlights the potentially dualistic symbolism of major sporting events such as the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, given their associations with both Britishness and Scottishness (Iorwerth et al, 2014;Jarvie and Reid, 1999;McDowell and Skillen, 2017;Polley, 2014). Harris and Skillen's (2016) reflection on the politicisation of sport vis-à-vis the referendum placed particular emphasis on the role of the media in raising these potentially contentious issues in their comments on the Games.…”

Section: The 2014 Commonwealth Games and The Scottish Independence Rementioning

confidence: 99%

The SNP, Scottish Labour and Glasgow 2014 – Contrasting Political Narratives of the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Whigham¹

2017

Scottish Affairs

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This article critically examines the predominant narratives which emanate from political discourse in relation to two significant events in Scotland in 2014 – the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the independence referendum. This article uses an analysis of the political discourse from the two largest parties in the Scottish Parliament at the time of the Games, the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) and the pro-union Scottish Labour Party, to highlight the contrasting discursive strategies of each party within their manifestos, policy documents, press releases and parliamentary speeches. This analysis demonstrates that each party portrayed nuanced positions on the Games, with the SNP illustrating the constraining nature of the constitutional status quo in relation to the potential economic and social benefits of the Games, and Labour using the event to illustrate the effectiveness of their stewardship of the Glasgow City Council despite the council funding cuts imposed by the SNP-led Scottish Government. Despite acknowledging the marginal status of the Games on the eventual outcome of the referendum, both parties suggested that the success of the event could lead to a ‘feel-good factor’ which could boost the ‘Yes’ vote. Such questionable claims are evaluated in light of past academic studies which question the validity of legacy outcomes from sporting events such as the Games (e.g. Giulianotti, 2016 ; Horne, 2007 ; Horne and Manzenreiter, 2006 ; Martin and Barth, 2013 ; Stewart and Rayner, 2016 ; Zimbalist, 2015 ).

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Nation, state and identity in international sport

Cited by 20 publications

References 20 publications

Nationality swapping in the Olympic Games 1978–2017: A supervised machine learning approach to analysing discourses of citizenship and nationhood

Nationality swapping in the Olympic Games 1978–2017: A supervised machine learning approach to analysing discourses of citizenship and nationhood

Glasgow 2014, the media and Scottish politics: The (post)imperial symbolism of the Commonwealth Games

The SNP, Scottish Labour and Glasgow 2014 – Contrasting Political Narratives of the 2014 Commonwealth Games

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