Routledge Handbook of Sport and Soft Power

Introduction

Paul Michael Brannagan, Jonathan Grix, and Danyel Reiche 

Part 1: The Concept of Soft Power and the Study of Sport 

1. International Relations, Power, and the Concept of Soft Power

Paul Michael Brannagan

2. Soft Power and the Study of Sport and Sports Mega-Events

Jonathan Grix and Danny Hannun 

Part 2: The Americas 

3. How has Brazil Used Sport as a Soft Power Tool?

Claudio Rocha 

4. Potentialities, Contradictions, and Limitations of Sports Soft Power in Argentina: The Diplomacy of la Albiceleste

Fernando Gutiérrez-Chico and Verónica Moreira 

5. Soft Power and Sport in Canada

David Black and Maya Hibbeln

6. Does the US Have a Sports Foreign Policy? Or Mighty Casey’s Rondure of the World

Aaron Ettinger 

7. Soft Power Strikes Out? The Place of Baseball in U.S.-Cuba Relations

Robert Huish 

8. Soft Power in Mexican Sports Diplomacy: Major Events, International Partnerships, and Structural Challenges

Carlos Pulleiro Méndez and Edith Yazmin Montes Incin 

Part 3: Europe 

9. Sport Soft Power in the United Kingdom

Barrie Houlihan 

10. Soft Power and Sport in Germany

Jonathan Grix 

11. French Sports Diplomacy and Soft Power Acquisition: Navigating Political Ambitions and Institutional Realities

Carole Gomez 

12. Soft Power in Swedish Sport: Moral Missionary of International Sport Governance

Anna-Maria Strittmatter, Cecilia Stenling, Josef Fahlén, and Eivind Å. Skille 

13. Sport and Soft Power in Norway: External Recognition and Internal Legitimation

Pål Augestad and Nils Asle Bergsgard 

Part 4: The Middle East 

14. Qatar and Sports Mega-Events: International and Domestic Soft Power Objectives

Paul Michael Brannagan and Danyel Reiche 

15. The United Arab Emirates and Sport Diplomacy: Using Cultures in Sports

Salma Thani 

16. Sport as a Tool of Soft Power in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Danyel Reiche and Paul Michael Brannagan 

17. Image-Building through Sport: Türkiye’s Strategic Deployment of Elite Sport for Soft Power

Cem Tinaz 

18. Soft Power Outcomes of Israeli Football Clubs in UEFA Competitions: Away Days

Samuel Lynch 

Part 5: Asia and Oceania 

19. China’s Strategic Use of Sports Diplomacy for Soft Power: From Ping-Pong Diplomacy to the Belt and Road Initiative

Fan Hong and Yicai Yu 

20. Singapore and Mega-sporting Event Hosting and High-performance Sport Investment as a “Smart Power” Strategy: Beyond Soft Power

Alex Thurston and Mathew Dowling 

21. Soft Power and Sport in Japan

Joonoh Jeong 

22. South Korea’s Global Cultural Strategy for Harnessing Sport for Soft Power

Eunah Hong 

23. Australian Sport Diplomacy, China, and Rugby League’s Push into the Pacific

Tom Heenan and Sam Duncan 

24. Sport and Soft Power in India

Sarthak Mondal and Sahen Gupta 

Part 6: Africa 

25. Sports and Soft Power in South Sudan

Mitsuaki Furukawa 

26. Kenya Achieves Global Recognition and Visibility Through the Power of Sport

Jepkorir-Rose Chepyator-Thomson 

27. Sport and Soft Power in Morocco: Morocco’s ‘Kingdom of Football, Kingdom of Achievement, People of Football’

Tamir Bar-On 

28. Egyptian Sports Soft Power: A Mixed Bag

James M. Dorsey 

29. Courting Hegemonic Influence in Africa through Sports: South Africa’s Soft Power in the Making

Olusola Ogunnubi 

Part 7: Transcontinental States 

30. Ukraine's Sport Diplomacy and Nation Branding through Euro 2012 and Olympic Aspirations: Stadiums of Sovereignty

Nina Kramareva 

31. Leveraging Power, Sport Sponsorship, and Mega-event Hosting in Azerbaijan: ‘The Land of Fire’

Joel Rookwood, Ekain Rojo-Labaien, and Jody La Porte 

32. Domestic and International Orientation of Russia’s Sports Soft Power Strategy in Times of War and Peace

Vitaly Kazakov 

Part 8: Non-State Actors 

33. Non-State Actors, Soft Power, and the Politics of Sport

Paul Michael Brannagan, Danyel Reiche, Seth Joseph Perkin, and Lorraine Bedwell 

34. From Soft Power to Felt Power: Sovereign Cultural Branding, Consumer Culture, and the Micro-Foundations of Saudi Arabia's Sponsorship Strategy

Paul Widdop 

35. Sports Mega-Events, Soft Power, and LGBTQ+ Rights

Faye Laura Jane Gillan 

36. Soft Power and Sport in Times of Climate Change

Thi My Le Le and Jonathan Grix 

37. Soft Power, Disability Sport, and the International Paralympic Committee

Seth Joseph Perkin

Biography

Paul Michael Brannagan is Reader in Sport Policy and Management at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. His research focuses on the political role of sport and major sporting events in national policy contexts, and international relations. He is one of the foremost scholars on sport and soft power, having published extensively on the topic. Paul has regularly provided expert comment on the politics of sport to numerous major media networks, including The Sunday Times, BBC World Service, Sky News, The Guardian, and the New York Times. 

Jonathan Grix is Professor of Sport Politics and Policy and Head of the Sport Policy Unit in the Business and Law Faculty at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. He is a global leader in the field of sport and politics having published widely on sport politics, sports policy, and soft power and sports mega-events. Jonathan is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. 

Danyel Reiche is Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Society at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU). He was previously a Visiting Associate Professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, where he led a research initiative on the FIFA World Cup 2022. For the Journal of Arabian Studies, he edited a special issue on Qatar’s World Cup goals, and for Soccer & Society, he co-edited a special issue on FIFA’s North American World Cup. Danyel also chairs the Political Studies Association (PSA) Sport and Politics Group.