Role of Sport in International Relations: National Rebirth and Renewal

The modern history of sports is inextricably intertwined with national pride, international prestige, and world politics. In many ways, sport has created spillover effects that go beyond sporting results. First, it has played an important role in nation-building and as a benchmark of national identity. Second, it has served as a vessel through which nations and people assert political independence and to express a distinctive identity. Third, it acts as a conduit of power, allowing nations such as Australia to augment its global status and position on the world stage. Last, sport constitutes a means of contextualizing the renewal or rebirth of a nation, like the success of the 1964 Tokyo Games for post-war Japan.