Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: olympics

No podium for human rights violations

No podium for human rights violations

Sports and politics have long been intertwined- historical figures like Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ash, and Billie Jean King have played a huge role in advancing the cause of human rights both in the United States and around the world. Modern figures like Colin Kapernick, Megan Rapinoe, Enes Kanter Freedom, and many many others […]

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On Enes Kanter and Politics in Sport

On Enes Kanter and Politics in Sport

  Enes Kanter has reemerged on the political stage. The eleven year NBA veteran made waves after wearing a pair of speakers expressing support for Tibetan independence. The game between Kanter’s Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks was being broadcast around the world, until the feed was abruptly cut off for Chinese consumers by […]

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Making the Olympics Less of an Elite Event

Making the Olympics Less of an Elite Event

No country should host the Olympics unless there is a guaranteed positive economic return from the Games. Unfortunately, this is not the case of Rio 2016.

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Is Rio Ready for the Olympics?

Is Rio Ready for the Olympics?

The Olympic Games are scheduled to begin on August 5. But will Rio de Janeiro be prepared amidst an economic recession, a looming public health crisis, delayed infrastructure developments, increasing crime rates, and numerous other problems that have rapidly developed over the past three years?

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Changing Brazil’s Democracy Without an Election

Changing Brazil’s Democracy Without an Election

The August 2015 protest is the fourth mass protest that has taken place pushing for the Rousseff’s impeachment.

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Brazil’s World Cup and the True Voice of the BRICS

Brazil’s World Cup and the True Voice of the BRICS

It appears that when the world was praising the BRICS nations a few years ago, that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa were seen as the countries that would dominate the world economy in the future, and that any opportunity to link a company or organization to these mega-economies would pay off without any […]

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The FPA’s Must Reads (THE SOCHI EDITION)

The FPA’s Must Reads (THE SOCHI EDITION)

As the 2014 winter games kick off, this is what you should be reading.

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Olympic Torch Burns Brightly for Some On Top of the World

Olympic Torch Burns Brightly for Some On Top of the World

The Olympic torch for the upcoming Winter Games in Sochi, Russia has made quite the journey so far. It’s only a little over a month into its 123-day, 65,000 kilometer relay, but already, the torch has made it to the frigid north and even outer space. This past week, cosmonauts carried the torch during the […]

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Olympic Cyber Surveillance and Global Internet Privacy

Olympic Cyber Surveillance and Global Internet Privacy

Sochi, a city whose flag features palm trees, the sun and rain drops, was far from a traditional choice for 2014 Winter Olympics. Yet there is an even more troubling geographical concern than why a country literally cold enough to freeze invading armies to death would choose a subtropical beach resort catering to aging apparatchiks […]

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The Olympics and Great Power Competition

The Olympics and Great Power Competition

The Olympics have finally concluded. These 2012 London Olympics will be remembered in many ways: NBC’s recorded coverage, Michael Phelps, Gabby’s 10,000 watt smile, 100 foot tall Voldemort, Usain Bolt, and British rock band after British rock band performing with strange props. It was an inspiring couple of weeks, and I enjoyed watching these amazing […]

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Olympics: A Time Capsule of the Mid-20th Century

Olympics: A Time Capsule of the Mid-20th Century

These days, the anachronism of the U.N. Security Council has long been taken for granted. After all, the world has moved on a bit from 60 years ago when four European counties and China called the shots. Or has it? Of the five top gold medal winners in the London Olympics, only South Korea is […]

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International Relations and the Olympics

International Relations and the Olympics

As the 2012 Olympics come to an end, we could list off the medals received, the records broken, and the athletic milestones reached. For the foreign policy enthusiasts among us, an Olympic recap inevitably includes another kind of list — a list of the geopolitical issues that the Games have highlighted. With more countries represented […]

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China’s Olympic Promise on Press Freedom

China’s Olympic Promise on Press Freedom

The Chinese government has sentenced writer Li Tie to 10 years imprisonment for his online articles, in which he urged respect for ordinary citizens, called for democracy and political reform, and urged basic human rights. Journalists around the world have noted with sorrow — but not surprise — this incredibly harsh and hypocritical decision. That […]

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Shame is the Name of This Game

Shame is the Name of This Game

Even for a country like India, long inured to the fiascos created by its bungling and corrupt politicians, the adjectives accompanying the Commonwealth Games (CWG) seem like a new low.

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Best of the Web: The Fashion Edition

*Member of the European Parliament and former French Justice Minister Rachida Dati talks politics, class prejudice and fashion while “being fashion,” as my little cousin is fond of saying. My little cousin doesn’t think I am fashion because “you have to be fashion, you have to feel fashion…Fashion people go out to party every single […]

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