The Olympic Movement and the Sport of Peacekeeping

Sport and peacekeeping have evolved. It is no longer the case that the Olympic Games and war games exist in isolation from each other. Increasingly, policy makers, peacekeepers, athletes, development workers, presidents of nations and others combine forces in an "integrated" approach towards peace. This approach is located not only within a broader, historically evolved Olympic Movement but also in relation to a newly emerged social movement which promotes development and peace through sport. This book will critically examine the ways in which this development is being played out at global, national and local levels, particularly in relation to the Olympic Movement and initiatives such as the biennial Olympic Truce Resolution.

The volume constitutes a unique scholarly attempt to provide an in-depth comparative analysis of the sport of peacekeeping in the context of the Olympic Movement. Through international comparison and empirically grounded case studies, the book provides an important new departure in the study of the social impact of the Olympic Movement and related peacekeeping efforts. It discusses these issues from a range of academic disciplines, including history, sociology, political science, economics, geography, philosophy and international relations.

This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

Ramon Spaaij is Senior Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Australia, and Visiting Professor at the Utrecht School of Governance, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Cindy Burleson is Chair of The International Sibling Society, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, USA.