DOI: 10.22281/2413-9912-2024-08-02-151-159

Romanov V.V.

HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF THE USE OF HIGH ACHIEVEMENT SPORTS
IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SOFT POWER CONCEPT

Elite sport has significant political and propaganda potential and plays a quintessential role in resolving issues related to political interaction and political struggle. At the same time, the current military-political situation aggravates this issue, which requires additional scientific understanding. The purpose of this article is to understand the historical aspects of the use of elite sports in the implementation of the concept of “soft power”. The methodological basis for writing this article was scientific retrospective. Also, in the process of writing the article, the author turned to the methodology of strategic planning in the public administration system, which made it possible to outline ways for the further development of elite sports as a tool of “soft power”. Sport, as an instrument of “soft power”, is a relatively new phenomenon on a historical scale, which, however, during its existence has been able to become not only the most important element of political cooperation, but also of political struggle. Russian elite sport is perceived in the West as a threat to the process of forming an inhumane image of Russia in the public consciousness. In the current military-political conditions, Russia cannot simply refuse to use this instrument of political confrontation with Western countries. In this regard, at present, when Russophobia is becoming an integral part of the activities of international sports organizations, it is advisable to concentrate the efforts of the Russian sports community and Russian sports leaders on bilateral contacts with foreign colleagues, bypassing sports federations, to clarify the situation and form public opinion about the inadmissibility of discrimination in sports. In modern conditions, it seems necessary to take measures, first of all, of a political and diplomatic nature, aimed at creating alternative opportunities for sports diplomacy, which should be based on the unifying potential of the countries of the Global South.

Keywords: sport, “soft power”, sports diplomacy, politics, history, retrospection, discrimination, sanctions.

Institute for International Studies, MGIMO, MFA of Russia (Russia)

Download (pdf)

Это произведение доступно по лицензии Creative Commons «Attribution-ShareAlike» («Атрибуция — На тех же условиях») 4.0 Всемирная