# 31. Sport and manipulation ## 31.5. Methodology/Refinements/Sub-species ### 31.5.1. Propaganda Uses There are several ways in which sport can be manipulated to fit into a larger program of propaganda. This propaganda can be designed for national or external consumption: - **National supremacy:** All international sporting events carry with them some attempt to demonstrate the (sporting) supremacy of a particular nation - that is their purpose after all. It is harmless enough when it isn't meant to be taken seriously. However, there have been cases where sport has been used to seriously attempt to demonstrate racial supremacy. The obvious example would be the use of the Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany in 1936 by the Nazi party. Hitler saw the Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy. The official Nazi party paper, the "Völkischer Beobachter" wrote in the strongest terms that Jews and black people should not be allowed to participate in the Games. Under threat of a boycott of the games, the Nazis were obliged to relent and allow Jewish and black people to participate, although (with one exception) all German Jewish and Roma participants were forbidden to participate. In the event, the Nazis used the games to showcase the strength of the Nazi party to the world. - **National projection:** The vast budgets available for the major international sporting events like the World Cup, the Olympics or Formula I racing provide a way for national governments to project their power and the wealth of their nations on visiting audiences and to the global television teams that attend these events. In ancient Greece, huge organised games were often staged in order to encourage health and exercise, military sporting prowess (like javelin throwing), but also to demonstrate to the world that Greece was a potent military force. In the recent London Olympics, the British government brought this militaristic sub-plot to a new level by placing anti-aircraft missile batteries on top of apartment blocks in central London and having a large armed naval presence in the Thames in addition to several layers of police and military security. The entire event was more akin to an international arms fair than a civilian games event for the pleasure of sporting participants and the public. At the same event, the British government also took the opportunity to make strong cultural statements about the United Kingdom's history, its "freedom and democracy" in an enormous Hollywood style extravaganza, which was shown around the world and cost an absolute fortune. The entire exercise took place against a back drop of Britain and the rest of the western world entering its longest period of economic recession in 80 years, massive government cuts, unemployment, poverty and seething social unrest. - **Jingoistic manipulation:** International sporting events are second only to a war in terms of their ability to generate strong nationalist sentiments and jingoism. Indeed, George Orwell referred to large international sporting events as "vicarious war" meaning "a war minus the shooting". These nationalistic manifestations are encouraged by governments for several reasons: - Nationalism unites people in a common cause against an external "enemy". - Nationalism puts the government in a good light as the leader of the nation. - Nationalism uses time and energy which might otherwise be directed against the government by the people. - Nationalism encourages the use of negative stereotypes against other nations, which may well fit the political philosophy and agenda of a government. - **Internal propaganda and social control:** Sport has a long history in supporting a wider domestic political narrative as part of a propaganda campaign. Sometimes the manipulative use of sport is applied to domestic and foreign affairs at the same time - as in Cuba since the revolution. During the Cold War sport was considered to be highly important in many "Eastern Bloc" countries. In Cuba, for instance, sport is still seen as being bound up with vital domestic and international issues because: - Sport is used as an ideological support for the Cuban version of socialism, - Sport has been used in Cuba to contribute to the creation of a post-revolutionary spirit of national identity and collective solidarity, - Through sport in very different ways, Cuba has been able to define and develop its relationship with two of the world's super powers. In Cuba, since 1959, sport has been deliberately and unashamedly manipulated as a vehicle for the inculcation of the ideals of the revolution and the development of socialist and communist values. After the revolution, many people fled to the United States and sport was used in the service of nationalism, for uniting the population and establishing a shared national identity by Castro's fledgling regime. In much the same way as the West Indies once celebrated world superiority in cricket as a symbolic victory over their former colonial oppressor - England-, so too do Cubans see their prowess at certain sports as a means of equalising their relationship with the United States, particularly if they can do well in American sports and/or beat the US in world competitions. More on this subject anon. ***Parent:** [[Sport and Manipulation]]*