The soft power–soft disempowerment nexus: the case of Qatar

There are four areas in which soft power is open to critical scrutiny. First, research has centred on large and/or developed nations, notably in North America, Europe, east Asia and the BRICs. Second, scholars have called for greater clarity of the concept, noting that it lacks clear explanation of how instances of attraction equate to various power outcomes. Third, others suggest Joseph Nye developed an Americanized-centric understanding of soft power, and hence a narrow account of what constitutes ‘attraction’. Finally, research has failed to examine how states' soft power attempts can backfire, leading to what we call ‘soft disempowerment’. Drawing on the case of Qatar—with a particular focus on the state's acquisition of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals—we seek to offer responses to these criticisms. We do this by refining the concept of soft power to take account of variegated power outcomes, and by focusing on a small state and a non-American context, in order to explore the intersections of soft power and soft disempowerment. In doing so, we introduce the ‘soft power–soft disempowerment nexus’ which, we go on to argue, affords an analytical framework for examining how soft power works and how it may be hampered through negative international scrutiny

Unlocking the whole of soft power: a quantum international relations analysis

Soft power is one of most applied, yet nebulous, concepts in social science. In this paper, we show that it is not soft power perse that is of issue here, but rather the Newtonian parameters through which the concept has been described. In making an original and significant contribution, we introduce a radical break from conventional attempts to explain soft power by drawing on quantum international relations. Through this, we show that Newtonian-based analyses fail to unlock soft power's full complexity. We close by identifying how quantum soft power advances research and practice

Unpacking the politics of ‘sportswashing’: It takes two to tango

The concept of ‘sportswashing’ serves as a short-hand way of criticising non-democratic regimes for using investment in sport, sports clubs, and sports events to detract from illiberal practices in their home countries. This article makes a contribution to the extant literature and debates on ‘sportswashing’ in three key ways by (1) showing that, paradoxically, without the encouragement and opportunities afforded by notionally democratic global capitalism and the ‘West’, ‘sportswashing’ strategies would not be available to non-democratic regimes; (2) highlighting the ‘mechanisms’ by which ‘sportswashing’ actually occurs and how it ought to be understood as an initial step on a long-term journey towards ‘soft power’ gains. The article does this by (3) examining two empirical examples of ‘sportswashing’: first, the 2022 Qatar World Cup and the broader international sports investment strategies pursued by Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Second, we introduce the WWE partnership with Saudi Arabia to demonstrate that ‘sports washing’ can be rendered bidirectional such that both participants reap a reputational boost, inverting the presumed reputational damage that otherwise constitutes the main disincentive to participation by Western capital. Such a process embeds non-democratic regimes in the sports industry leading to their becoming ‘normalised’ in international business

Esports Governance: Exploring Stakeholder Dynamics

Esports is a rapidly growing industry. However, the unidentifiable governance structure of the industry has contributed to a number of integrity-eroding activities. By exploring esports stakeholder dynamics, this paper answers the question, “Is the esports governance model sustainable?” Data were sourced from documentation, focus groups (N = 3) and semi-structured interviews (N = 6). Thematic analysis was conducted using Nvivo. The findings suggest that (1) the current esports governance framework features some attributes of the “lead organisation-governed network”, with the power residing mainly in game publishers; (2) the rising power of other stakeholders in the network seeking to address integrity issues has caused fragmentation of the esports governance framework; (3) esports governance is evolving towards a network administration organisation (NAO) model. Such evolution has a few challenges—most notably, the compliance of game publishers. Given the social impact of the integrity issues, governments should play a main role in facilitating a NAO model

Sports Mega-Events, Soft Power and Soft Disempowerment: international supporters’ perspectives on Qatar’s acquisition of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals

Through conducting document analysis, field work, and semi-structured interviews at five major tournaments in Asia, North America, Europe and South America, the paper examines the perspectives of international football supporters on the Fédération Internationale de Football Association’s (FIFA) decision to award the 2022 World Cup finals to the State of Qatar. The paper is separated into five sections. First we ground Qatar’s sporting strategy within the concept of ‘soft power’, as well as pinpoint the negative consequences that have manifest since the state’s acquisition of the 2022 finals. Second, we disclose and defend our chosen data collection strategy. Third, we uncover and discuss our results with reference to three key themes: the state’s suitability as a football destination; the dubious awarding of the 2022 World Cup; and, Qatar’s cultural backdrop and domestic policies. Fourth, we align our findings to Qatar’s foreign policy intentions and ‘soft disempowerment’ consequences, locating in the process the opportunities and challenges that accompany the state’s hosting of the 2022 finals. We conclude by reflecting upon the contribution we have made here, as well as acknowledging the importance of Qatar for current and future sports mega-event research

Soft power and soft disempowerment: Qatar, global sport and football’s 2022 World Cup finals

This paper examines the critical role of global sport within Qatar’s international strategy, most notably through the successful bid to stage the 2022 football World Cup. Our discussion draws particularly on interviews with key stakeholders in the Qatari sport system, as well as fieldwork in Qatar and the analysis of relevant documents and secondary materials. The paper is separated into five main parts. First, we set out our theoretical framework, which draws on the concepts of globalization and soft power; to assist in the analysis of Qatar’s engagement with global sport, we introduce the two further concepts of ‘glocal consciousness’ and ‘soft disempowerment’. Second, we provide the reader with background information on Qatar and Qatari sport. Third, we discuss three key themes that emerged mainly from our interviews on Qatar and global sport: exhibiting Qatar’s supremacies as a microstate; the pursuit of peace, security and integrity; and confronting national health crises. Fourth, we explore issues of soft disempowerment and reputational risk with regard to these three themes and, in particular, critical international comment surrounding Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. Fifth, we conclude by arguing that Qatar’s soft disempowerment, although damaging in the short term, leaves the door open for the state to respond in a positive manner, regenerating its soft power capabilities in the process

Nation-state strategies for human capital development: the case of sports mega-events in Qatar

The paper makes an original contribution to knowledge in three ways. First, through interviews with experts in Qatar, we uncover the role major sports events seek to play in the development of Qatar’s indigenous population. Our findings show that, alongside seeking to achieve various international objectives, these events are also intended to have a positive impact on the state’s human capital development at home. Specifically, in this regard, there is a desire to use sports events to address issues related to the health of Qataris, and to try to engage citizens in a process of maturity, whereby they are encouraged to confront the outside world, and become less reliant on the state. Second, our paper adds to understanding the role of aspirations, motivation and ambition in the human capital development process, which, as we show, is an area to which a growing literature is devoted. Third, the paper is the first academic analysis to provide insight into how sports events can be used in an attempt to overcome the ‘resource curse’, referring to the evidential long-term human capital development deficiencies that are commonly experienced by natural resource-rich states across the Middle East, Asia and Africa

Mass social change and identity hybridization: the case of Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup

This paper examines how the 2022 World Cup has transformed national and cultural identity in Qatar, and residents’ responses to such change. Our discussion draws on interviews with Qatari citizens and those working within Qatar’s cultural, education, policy, and sports sectors, as well as document analysis. The paper is in four parts. First, we present background information on Qatar, before discussing our chosen methods. Third, we discuss four themes generated from the data. The first focuses on changes to the built environment and how this has impacted perceptions of cultural life in Qatar; second relates to how World Cup infrastructure is also seen as a continued expression of Qatar’s heritage; third centred on the perspectives of Qataris as a cultural minority in their country; and fourth shed light on how certain everyday cultural practices of Qataris has survived modernization attempts, albeit, in hybrid forms. We conclude by suggesting that though Qatar’s World Cup has brought challenges to Qataris, they actively maintain celebratory heritage customs

Entering the Global Arena

First book to draw together the infancy of published work on sports events and emerging statesSituates the debate within key, mainstream literature in contemporary international relations, sociology, political science and sports studiesOffers readers a truly global comparison (drawing on evidence from South America, Eurasia, Asia and the Middle East