Sports mega-events as part of a nation's soft power strategy: The cases of Germany (2006) and the UK (2012)

The potential positive impact on a nation's image has moved from being a welcome consequence to a significant justification for investing in hosting sports mega-events. Mobilising Joseph Nye's concept of 'soft power' we empirically investigate Germany's strategic use of a sports 'mega' (the 2006 FIFA World Cup) to successfully alter their image among 'foreign publics'. We then analyse the example of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games for Britain's international prestige. For both cases we draw on and analyse official government documents and newspaper sources written before and after the Games. The findings reveal the stark contrast between Germany's and Britain's sport and 'soft power' strategies: the former undertook a long-term, well-planned and resourced approach to altering its poor international image; the latter appeared far less concerned about capitalising on the Olympics to enhance Britain's (seemingly robust) international image

Small states: sport and politics at the margin

The aims of this article are the identification of the objectives of small states for participation in international sport and investing in elite sport and the analysis of the strategies that small states adopt to maximize their ability to achieve their sport and non-sport objectives. The article discusses the problem of the definition of smallness and explores objective, relative and subjective definitions. There follows an analysis of the characteristics of vulnerability and capacity in relation to strategy development and a review of the utility of international relations theory for the analysis of small states. The article continues with the identification of five possible strategies that might be adopted by small states (independent/autonomous, isomorphist/imitative, isolationist, collective and camp follower) and the resources needed to operationalize the strategies. Following a brief review of the examples of Singapore and Ireland, the article concludes that the scope for the adoption of independent strategies is likely to narrow given the global ambitions of international federations and the International Olympic Committee. The conclusion also considers the prospects for stimulating research in the area of small state sport policy and argues that the prospects are not good