World Politics by Other Means? London, City Diplomacy and the Olympics
In: The Hague Journal of DiplomacySearch for other papers by Michele Acuto in
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Summary
Drawing on the case of the Olympics, and in particular on the role of London in securing, planning and administering the 2012 Summer Games, this article investigates how cities participate in world politics beyond the traditional avenues of the international system. Tracing how the planning of a sporting mega-event has been woven into London’s international role as a global ‘green’ leader, the article seeks to shed some light on the diplomatic role of cities, as well as on how sport has been used in relation to city diplomacy and urban governance. The Olympics offer a unique window on the multi-scalar reach of these subnational authorities, allowing for substantial public diplomacy initiatives. Major cities such as London, as the article argues, can exert a pervasive diplomatic influence, and planning for sporting events can extend their capacity to link ‘city diplomacy’ with tangible impacts on everyday lives.
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2)
Peter Horton, ‘Sport as Public Diplomacy and Public Disquiet’, The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 25, no. 7, 2008, pp. 851-875.
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3)
Brian Hocking, ‘Patrolling the “Frontier”: Globalization, Localization and the “Actorness” of Non-Central Governments’, Regional and Federal Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 1999, p. 17; and Michele Acuto, ‘Global Cities: Gorillas in Our Midst’, Alternatives, vol. 35, no. 4, 2010, pp. 425-448 at p. 426.
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4)
Patrick Le Galès, European Cities: Social Conflicts and Governance (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 262.
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See Michele Acuto, Global Cities, Governance and Diplomacy: The Urban Link (London: Routledge, 2013).
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See Chadwick F. Alger, ‘The World Relations of Cities: Closing the Gap between Social Science Paradigms and Everyday Human Experience’, International Studies Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 4, 1990, pp. 493-518; and Chadwick F. Alger, ‘Expanding Governmental Diversity in Global Governance: Parliamentarians of States and Local Governments’, Global Governance, vol. 16, no. 1, 2010, pp. 59-79.
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9)
Heidi H. Hobbs, City Hall Goes Abroad: The Foreign Policy of Local Politics (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1994); Jan Melissen and Rogier van der Pluijm, ‘City Diplomacy: The Expanding Role of Cities in International Politics’, Clingendael Paper (The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’, April 2007); and Mark Amen, Noah J. Toly, Patricia L. McCarney and Klaus Segbers (eds), Cities and Global Governance (Farnham: Ashgate, 2011).
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10)
Stuart Murray, ‘The Two Halves of Sports Diplomacy’, Diplomacy & Statecraft, vol. 23, no. 3, 2012, pp. 576-592.
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11)
H.E. Chehab, ‘Sport Diplomacy between the United States and Iran’, Diplomacy & Statecraft, vol. 12, no.1, 2001, pp. 89-106; and Udo Merkel, ‘The Politics of Sport Diplomacy and Reunification in Divided Korea’, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, vol. 43, no. 3, 2008, pp. 289-311.
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14)
John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson (eds), Watching the Olympics: Politics, Power and Representation (London: Routledge, 2011).
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15)
Sifiso M. Ndlovu, ‘Sports as Cultural Diplomacy: The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa’s Foreign Policy’, Soccer & Society, vol. 11, no. 1-2, 2010, pp. 144-153.
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16)
Robert Redeker, ‘Sport as an Opiate of International Relations’, Sport in Society, vol. 11, no. 4, 2008, p. 500.
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17)
Stuart Murray, ‘Consolidating the Gains Made in Diplomacy Studies: A Taxonomy’, International Studies Perspectives, vol. 9, no. 1, 2008, pp. 22-39.
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19)
Aaron Beacon, International Diplomacy and the Olympic Movement (Houndmills: Palgrave, 2012).
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23)
John Hoberman, ‘The Olympics’, Foreign Policy, no. 167, July/August 2008, pp. 22-28.
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Lynn Zinser, ‘Olympic Committee Chooses London for 2012 Summer Games’, New York Times, 6 July 2005, available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/06/sports/othersports/06cnd-olympic.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all.
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31)
Donald McNeill, ‘Livingstone’s London: Left Politics and the World City’, Regional Studies, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 75-80, at p. 79.
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34)
Peter Newman, ‘ “Back the Bid”: The 2012 Summer Olympics and the Governance of London’, Journal of Urban Affairs, vol. 29, no. 3, 2007, pp. 255-267, at p. 256.
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38)
Harriet Bulkeley and Heike Schroeder, ‘Global Cities and the Governance of Climate Change: What Is the Role of Law in Cities?’, Fordham Urban Law Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, 2009, p. 335.
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40)
Christopher Clarey, ‘London’s Games, an Island between Beijing and Rio’, The New York Times, 7 May 2012.
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44)
Mark Kinver, ‘London 2012: UN Head Backs 2012 Green Efforts’, BBC News, 27 April 2012, available online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17867309.
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47)
Richard Langhorne, ‘Who Are the Diplomats Now?’, Diplomacy & Statecraft, vol. 8, no. 2, 1997, p. 13.
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48)
Murray, ‘Consolidating the Gains Made in Diplomacy Studies’, pp. 32-34.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
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World Politics by Other Means? London, City Diplomacy and the Olympics
In: The Hague Journal of DiplomacySearch for other papers by Michele Acuto in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Summary
Drawing on the case of the Olympics, and in particular on the role of London in securing, planning and administering the 2012 Summer Games, this article investigates how cities participate in world politics beyond the traditional avenues of the international system. Tracing how the planning of a sporting mega-event has been woven into London’s international role as a global ‘green’ leader, the article seeks to shed some light on the diplomatic role of cities, as well as on how sport has been used in relation to city diplomacy and urban governance. The Olympics offer a unique window on the multi-scalar reach of these subnational authorities, allowing for substantial public diplomacy initiatives. Major cities such as London, as the article argues, can exert a pervasive diplomatic influence, and planning for sporting events can extend their capacity to link ‘city diplomacy’ with tangible impacts on everyday lives.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 2143 | 411 | 17 |
| Full Text Views | 496 | 40 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 508 | 95 | 3 |
