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MICHAŁMARCINKOBIERECKI
SportasaToolforStrengtheningaPoliticalAlliance:
TheCaseoftheEasternBlocduringtheColdWar
Introduction
Theaimofthisarticleistoinvestigatetheissueoftheuseofsports
exchangesbetweenstatestostrengthentheiralliance,aswiththeexample
ofcommuniststatesduringtheColdWar.Asamatteroffact,Sovietsports
officialsveryoftenimpliedthatoneoftherolesofsportwasto“consolidate
friendshipbetweennations.”1Thetruthofthisstatementmightbedoubtfulin
relationtotheUSSR’ssportsrelationswiththecapitaliststates,butinrespect
tosportscontactsbetweentheEasternEuropeancommunistcountriesthese
wordsappeartobeveryaccurate.WithintheEasternBloc,sportfunctioned
asatoolforstrengtheningthesocialistsystem,intheorybybroadening
Sovietinfluenceoveritssatellitestatesinculturalandsocialareas.Atthe
sametimesportservedtodemonstratethesuperiorityofcommunismtothe
outsideworld,byshowingtheunityofcommunistsocieties.2
Somekeytermsrelatingtothisissueneedclarification.Theutilisation
ofsportfordiplomaticreasonsisgenerallyassociatedwiththetermsports
diplomacy,whichisregardedasapartofpublicdiplomacy.3Therearethree
mainobjectivesofsportsdiplomacy:tobringstatesorsocietiescloser,touse
1
J.Parks,“Verbalgymnastics:sports,bureaucracy,andtheSovietUnion’sentranceintothe
OlympicGames,1946-1952,”in:S.Wagg,D.L.Andrews(eds.),EastPlaysWest:Sport
andtheColdWar,Routledge,London,2007,p.41.
2
E.Mertin,“SteadfastFriendshipandBrotherlyHelp:TheDistinctiveSoviet-East
GermanSportRelationshipwithintheSocialistBloc,”in:H.L.Dicher,A.L.Johns(eds.),
DiplomaticGames:Sport,Statecraft,andInternationalRelationssince1945,University
PressofKentucky,Lexington,2014,p.60.
3
E.H.Potter,BrandingCanada:ProjectingCanada’sSoftPowerthroughPublicDiplomacy,
McGill-Queen’sUniversityPress,Montreal,2009,pp.90-92.
ThePolishQuarterlyofInternationalAffairs,2016,no.2
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