Regional Offices and the Domestic Politics of Europe

War and Peace, Freeze and Thaw: Regional Narratives of North Korea and the 2018 Winter Olympics

“…The 2018 Games have also been examined in relation to sports diplomacy (see English & Murray, 2022; Lee, 2020, 2021a, 2021b, 2022; Rowe, 2019, 2022). Briefly, sports diplomacy, including at Olympic events, can be used to achieve government foreign policy aims, and create favourable images of key figures, including politicians, athletes, or even cheerleaders (Beacom, 2018; Li, 2011; Murray, 2012; Murray & Pigman, 2014; Rofe, 2018).…”

“…In North Korea’s case, sports diplomacy and the 2018 Winter Olympics was implemented to soften its image due to its nuclear weapons program, and concerns over human rights violations (English & Murray, 2022). Rowe (2022, p. 55) notes how sports diplomacy and the media is not a simple relationship, but states that “real time symbolic unification” at a mega event such as the Winter Olympics, or the Sydney Olympics of 2000 when the Koreas also marched together, can encourage negotiations between key figures. Lee (2021a) examined elements of sports diplomacy in British, North and South Korean publications, including Rodong Sinmun , but only through the lens of the Winter Olympics opening and closing ceremonies.…”

“…Rowe (2019, p. 5) undertook what he describes as a “discursive” analysis of the Games in predominantly Australian and United Kingdom publications, focusing primarily on the lead-up to the event and the competitive period of the Olympics. In terms of the media’s analysis, Rowe (2019, p. 15) proposed that the Winter Olympics were “widely credited in the media in various regions, including Western Europe and Australasia, with being the catalyst or ‘icebreaker’ in relation” to geopolitical developments, and easing of tension on the Korean peninsula (see also Rowe, 2022). However, he states that while “a mediated consensus is likely to be established in various national contexts” around the Games, there will not be a uniform pattern, with “differential positions in relation to the Korean peninsula” and the broader region (Rowe, 2019, p. 15).…”

“…As the focus shifts from East Asia, it is timely to reflect on the opening stage of this phase when mega sport, geo-politics and sports diplomacy intersected due to North Korea’s involvement (see English & Murray, 2022). In the relatively short time since PyeongChang 2018, there has been detailed scholarship on the Winter Olympics and themes of peace and sports diplomacy in the media (see Lee, 2020, 2021a, 2021b, 2022; Rowe, 2019, 2022). Rowe (2019) notes how these Games were the “centre of global media news discourse” while Lee (2021a) described reconciliation as a key factor in the coverage, and a development which may have changed geopolitics in Northeast Asia.…”

“…The approach is in contrast to previous work that contained more general international coverage, and included North Korea as only one of the players in the broader sporting and geo-political environment (see Lee, 2021a, 2021b; Rowe, 2019, 2022), rather than the sole nation of focus. Examining publications from four East Asian nations provides greater context of issues of sports diplomacy, peace, and war in relation to North Korea’s involvement in the Games, due to the events, debates and conflict occurring within the nations’ own region.…”