When you organize a gathering where individuals wear their national colors and compete against one another, there is something intrinsically beautiful about the many cultures, languages, and beliefs that come together. Yet, these interactions quickly become inherently political. Locate that gathering in one of the world’s most volatile geopolitical flashpoints, and you’ll get this year’s Winter Olympics.
However, the diplomatic posturing and flexing is nothing new. The Olympic Games have long been an event that is wrapped up in the agendas of one state or another. While much has been said on gestures such as the unified Korean women’s hockey team and Vice President Mike Pence’s snubbing by North Korean diplomats, there is often little distinction between what’s noise and what’s news. Looking back on the peculiar history of sports diplomacy, the Olympics has often been a venue for shallow gesturing but also an opportunity to project national capability on a global stage.
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Nicholas J. Romanow 