Sport Diplomacy and Global Politics in the Twenty-FirstCentury

Today, the interplay between sport, global politics, and diplomacy appears increasingly prominent. This is because the world has been witnessing a few notable political shifts: the domination oft he liberal international order, the rise of non-Westen powers, and the return of geopolitics. First, within the liberalist world order, non-conventional diplomatic conducts such as public exchanges play an important role in the relationship amongst the nations.Understandably, sport emerges as a useful diplomatic instrument.Second, the rise of non-Western nations further strengthens the position of sport in a foreign policy program. These countries employ sport actively to maximize their diplomatic gains. Third, the escalating geopolitical tensions make us reconsider the sport-diplomacy nexus. In this situation, diplomatic and military confrontations turn the international sporting arenas into areas of political disputation. At this juncture, this special issue presents as election of essays that investigate this volatile interface of sport, diplomacy and geopolitics.