Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics Sport As a Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Tool

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Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics

Alan Bairner, John Kelly, Jung Woo Lee

Sport as a Foreign Policy and Diplomatic Tool

Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 Udo Merkel Published online on: 07 Oct 2016

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The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 deep-rooted conflicts’(Anan2010: 30). relationships Games andtheSoccerWorld Cup,tounitecitizensofdifferentnations,‘rebuildfractured who hasrepeatedlyemphasised thepotentialofmegasportsevents,suchasOlympic for example,hasalsobeenpraisedbyformerUnitedNations Secretary-General,KofiAnnan, U2’s frontmanBono(Drezner2006).Sport’sabilitytobring aboutglobalunityandpeace, prominent politicians,sportadministrators,themediaandeven musiciansandsingers,suchas international relations.Thisviewiswidely,anduncritically, supportedbyhigh-profileand be an effective foreign policy tool, and,in particular, a safe and gentle way of improving Delhi’s conciliatorinesswassincereandgenuine(Bhaskaran2006). Indian government’swillingnesstoletthecricketerstourPakistan thatconvincedPakistanis Minister, ManmohanSingh,andhisForeignNatwar Singh,alsoattended.Itwasthe President PervezMusharraftowatchacricketmatchinIndia thatthepreviousIndianPrime over the disputedprovinceofKashmir.Itwas initiated byan ‘informal’ visitofformerPakistani lowed a generalagreement between the South Asian neighboursonatimetable for peace talks spring 2004,theIndiancricketteamtouredPakistanforfirsttimein15years.Thetourfol being burnedinanti-USdemonstrationsofanimosityandresentment(Goldberg2000).In Tehran. Since1979,theonlyimagesofStarsandStripesbannerinIranwerethoseflags Symbolically, oneofthemostsignificantmomentswashoistingAmericanflagin Cup tournament.ItwasthefirstUSdelegationtovisitIransincebeforeIranianRevolution. wrestlers andthesamenumberofofficialsvisitedIrantoparticipateininternationalTakhti 1970s (CarterandSugden2012;Hill1996:123;Kanin1978).In1998,agroupoffiveAmerican made animportantcontributiontoimprovementinSino-Americanrelationstheearly relationship betweensportandinternationalpolitics:Thewell-knownping-pongdiplomacy the followingthreeanecdotesare,atleast,equallyimpressiveandshowdifferentfacetsof temporarily. Althoughthisepisodeisoftencitedasevidenceofsport’speace-makingability, pacifying theopposingsides(BrownandSeaton1994;Jürgs2003;Weintraub2002)–albeit The so-called ‘Christmas Truce’duringtheFirstWorldWar(1914–18)madesportfamousfor and lastinguse of sport,bothatgrassrootsand toplevels,canmakeitapowerful diplomatic Although thereissometruth in thisstatement,chapterarguesthat Ping-pong, wrestling and cricket diplomacy show that international sport encounters can SPORT AS A FOREIGN POLICY AND

ra dw brir ad hleg stereotypes challenge and barriers down break DIPLOMATIC Udo Merkel 3 28

TOOL .

n oecm te most the overcome and only thesystematic -

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 part ofbothcountries’foreignpolicyagendas Democratic People’sRepublicofKorea(DPRK),intheNorth,wereaprominentandintegral and earlytwenty-first politically dividedKoreanpeninsula,whereavarietyofsportexchanges,inthelatetwentieth led diplomacyishelplessandineffective.Thiswas,continuestobe,mostevident its own,orevenatoddswiththeoveralldirectionofagovernment’sforeignpolicy,sports- their analysisofbaseballdiplomacybetweentheUnitedStatesandCubain1970s.On goals. Otherwise,itislikelytofail,asCarterandSudgen(2012)haveconvincinglyshownin ful onlyifitisembeddedinandsupportedbyawiderstrategythatpursuesthesamepolitical tool. Italsosuggeststhattheuseofsportasaforeignpolicyanddiplomatictoolcanbesuccess sense, foreignpolicy isdefinedas, systems andideologicalpreferences, andtopursuespecificforeignpolicygoals.Initsbroadest quently usedinternationalcompetitions ashigh-profilepublicforumstovalidatetheirpolitical 1998) havedisruptedalargenumber ofinternationalsportsevents.Statesandgovernments fre eth century,politicalagendas and ideologicalconflicts(Hoberman1984;RiordanArnaud 1995) or nationalism versusinternationalism(Merkel2003).Since the beginningof twenti munism (Riordan1999),separatismversusintegration(Hargreaves 2000;SugdenandBairner development of modern sport (Riordan and Political tensions,rivalriesandinternationalconflictshavelong accompaniedandimpactedthe in thetwenty-firstcentury. role andpoliticalefficacyofcontemporarysportdiplomacyastheglobalordertakesshape mate inKorea.Thiscasestudy Jonsson (2006),whotouchonthisissue. foreign policytoolhasbeenlargelyignored,withthenotable exceptionsofBridges(2012)and Olympics andthe2002FIFAWorldCup,hostedtogether withJapan,theroleofsportasa Horne 2004;McBeth1988;Ok2007),boostedbythesuccessful stagingofthe1988Summer aspects ofsportinSouthKorea(Ahn2000;HorneandManzenreiter 2002;Manzenreiterand has beenanincreasedacademicinterestinthestudyofsocio-economic,culturalandpolitical and Budd2004)hardlymentionthisinterestingcontemporaryexample.Althoughthere peninsula. Evenrelativelyrecentpublicationsonsportandinternationalrelations(Levermore to theborderwithNorthKorea,itistimelyfocusonsportdiplomacydividedKorean ‘most foreignpolicydecisionstakeplacebehindcloseddoors’(Beach2012:3). these towidergovernmentalforeignpolicygoals,butwillhaveignorethesecondfieldas actors eventuallydo(2012:12–13).Thischapterfocusesontheresultsandoutcomeslinks prioritise andwant;second,thedecision-makingprocesses;third,outputorwhat those activities, needstoaddressthree main areas:first,whatthose actors involved in foreign policy fall-out willbeminimal.Beachsuggeststhatanyanalysisofforeignpolicy,includingdiplomatic If theireffortsareunsuccessful,politicianswillnotsufferfromembarrassmentandthepolitical involvement ofnon-governmentalandnon-stateactorsisconvenientrelativelyrisk-free. tions betweenandtheoverallpoliticalclimateincountriesinvolved.Forgovernments, are motivatedbybroaderforeignpolicyconcernsandhaveimplicationsforthegeneralrela in thecontextofsportscompetitions,events,exchanges,cooperationsandcollaborationsthat tional contactsbetweenathletes,teams,spectators,fans,coaches,administratorsandpoliticians Sport diplomacy,inthecontextofthischapter,isdefinedaswholerangeinterna Prior tothe2018WinterOlympicsinSouthKorea’sPyeongchang,whichislocatedclose

century, betweentheRepublicofKorea(ROK),inSouth,and Sports, foreign policy and diplonacy diplonacy and policy foreign Sports, Conceptual considerations offers auniqueopportunitytoexaminecriticallythechanging Krüger 1999), whether it is capitalism versus com- 29 and hadasignificantimpactonthepoliticalcli on the ------Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 nature ofterritorialboundaries’ and‘themultiplicityofinternationalconnections addressing social,cultural,economic andenvironmentalissues.Third,theincreasingly‘porous icy agendaofforeignofficesismulti-layeredandtendstoinclude exchangesandnegotiations formal politicalstatusanddiplomaticpowers.Second,Pluralism acknowledgesthatthepol actors, forexamplenon-governmentalorganisationsandcivil societyinitiativesthathaveno central roleofthestatewithininternationalrelationsbutalso recognisestheinputofnon-state sport diplomacy.Ithasseveraladvantagesovertheotherparadigms. First,itacknowledgesthe economic valueintheKoreancontext. limited scopeforassessingtheefficacyofsportasadiplomatic resourceasthelatterhaslimited cial interestsofmulti-nationalsponsorsandcorporations, the Marxistapproachoffersonly commercialised anddrivenbythegreedinessofinternational governingbodies,thecommer- and inequalities.Althoughthereisnodoubtthatmanyaspects ofinternationalsportarehighly non-security issues,butitalmostexclusivelyfocusesoneconomicstructures,developments limited. Thisapproachacknowledgestheimpactofnon-stateactorsandimportance 2004, 2005). political systems, standards of living and levels of contact with the outside world (Cumings of theKoreanpeoplethatexistsintwonation-stateswithverydifferentsocio-economicand This paradigmwouldbeverylimiting,asitisunabletocapturethecomplexityandsubtleties and insecurity: capabilities, inthewidercontextofaninternationalsystemthatischaracterizedbyuncertainty as italmostexclusivelyfocusesonthestate,primaryunitofanalysis,anditsmilitary little contributiontoabetterunderstandingoftheroleinternationalsportinglobalpolitics, ism, thearmedforces,foreignpolicyandeconomicrelations.TheRealistapproachcanmake of theseparadigms,astheyareprimarilyconcernedwithtrade,security,internationalterror perspective (Mingst1999:60–108).Atfirstsight,thereappearstobenoplaceforsportinany the threemajortheoreticalapproachesareRealism,PluralismandmoreradicalMarxist foreign policyandinternationalrelations.Withintheacademicstudyofrelations, Any analysisofsportasadiplomatictoolneedstobeembeddedwithinthebroaderfields interests. One major concernofmostmodern statesistoavoidlarge-scale militaryconflicts, mous actor, but as an organisation that tries to accommodate various, sometimes conflicting, usually takenintoconsideration. Furthermore,Pluralismdoesnottreatthestateasanautono actions based on trade, tourism, media communications, and migration’ (Houlihan 1994: 42) are Pluralism appearstoprovideamuchmorehelpfultheoretical frameworkforthestudyof Like Realism,thecapacityofMarxistparadigmasanoveralltheoreticalframeworkis purposes. as governingbodiesofsportthatarecentraltotheutilisationfordiplomatic sport isthescant attention it gives to the roleof non-governmental organisationssuch What makesrealisttheoryunattractivefortheexplorationofdiplomaticvalue diplomatic activitysuchassummits,andtheuseofmilitaryforce. making speeches,negotiatingtreaties,givingotherstateseconomicaid,engagingin taken using a variety of differentinstruments, ranging from adopting declarations, collective actorswithintheinternationalsystem.Foreignpolicyactionscanbeunder the particularactionstakenbyastateorothercollectiveactorasdirectedtoward Udo Merkel Udo 30 (Houlihan 1994:40–1) (Beach 2012:3)

and inter - - - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 to participateandexperienceboththesymbolicrealelementsofforeignpolicy. world ofinternationalsporttendtobehighlyvisibleandallowordinarycitizens,someextent, be excludedfrommostoftheseactivities.However,foreignpolicyinitiativesthatoccurinthe with others,requirescontinuousinteractionsinavarietyofrealms.Thegeneralpublictendsto interest ofeachstatetocooperatewithothers.Suchcooperation,throughdiplomaticdialogue since security and self-preservation are deemed absolutely essential. It is, therefore, in the self- are currentlyseveral insurmountable politicalbarriersthatmakethe reunificationofthedivided a confederationbetweenthetwo countriestopreventwarandsecurepeace.However, Nations GeneralAssemblyinNew York,NorthKorea’sMinisterforForeignAffairsproposed paring forKoreanreunification. InSeptemberofthesameyear,atameetingUnited private sectororganisationsand universitiesandchairedbyherself,whichwastaskedwith pre Gyeun-hye, setupanewcommittee, comprisingmorethan70membersfromgovernment, Korean people(MinistryofUnification2005).InJuly2014, SouthKorea’spresident,Park foreign investment. improving itsreputation,asapoliticallystablecountry,and attractingdesperatelyneeded appears tobeovershadowedbythegovernment’sdesirefor thesocialistsystemtosurvive, the international community(Tisdall 2010). More recently,the North’s foreign policy agenda ers want respect through recognition of its legitimacy – however absurd that might appear to to regimechange.Second,andgoinghandinwiththe firstobjective,NorthKorea’srul an agreementwouldalsoreducetheriskofmilitaryactionfrom outsideforcesthatcouldlead (1950–1953), which cost the lives of three millionKorean civilians and 700,000 soldiers. Such ritorial sovereigntyofthestateand,finally,endinfamous chapteroftheKoreanWar the politicalregimeismostconcernedaboutapeacetreaty,asitwould stage, NorthKorea’spoliticalaspirationsandforeignpolicyobjectivesarecrystalclear.First, Despite theDPRK’ssecretiveandoftenapparentlyirrationalbehaviouroninternational Currently, security and trade are at the top of the country’s international political agenda. legitimacy’ (Cha2009:59),whichusedtobeoneofSouthKorea’smajorforeignpolicygoals. external threats. countries closelytogetheristhepurityoftheirethnicroots,adeepsensesharedinjusticeand culture’ (Feffer2003:57),theNorthhasratherlimitedcontactwithoutsiders.Whattiesboth the world. In addition to ‘a large economic disparity, a democracy gap, [and] a vastly different economy, onaparwithmanydevelopednations,theNorthisoneofpoorestcountriesin that theNorthwasunabletomatch. celebrated thecountry’stechnologicalprogress,modernisation,democratisationandwealth the worldstage’(ChoandBairner2012:285).SouthKorea’scapitalputonaspectaclethat boycotted. Thiseventiswidelyconsidereda‘majorfactorinSouthKorea’semergenceonto That changedconsiderablyafterthe1988SummerOlympicsinSeoul,whichNorthKorea or, whentheyengagedwitheachother,thecompetitionwasfierce(HaandMangan2002). and 5,000-yearhistory.Theyeitherdidnotparticipate,inprotestattheother’spresence, countries claimedtobethetruerepresentativeofKoreanpeople,theirdistinctiveculture Korea, bothfoundedin1948,withanimpressivepublicstagefortheirideologicalbattles.Both During theColdWar(1947–1991),internationalsportseventsprovidedbothNorthandSouth ‘The startoftheSeoulGames The onlyforeignpolicygoalbothcountriesshareistheir desiretoreunitethedivided International politicsandforeignpoliciesonthe Sports, foreign policy and diplonacy diplonacy and policy foreign Sports, divided Koreanpeninsula

. While SouthKoreanowadaysboastsAsia’sfourthlargest

truly markedtheendofinter-Koreancompetitionfor 31 guarantee theter- there - -

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 enthusiastic aboutreunificationthantheirparentsandgrandparents. over thelastfewyearshaverepeatedlyshownthatyoungSouthKoreansareconsiderablyless Korean people an unrealisticpolitical vision (Chamberlin2005).Furthermore,several polls was notallowed(Yoon2006). the spiritofpeaceandfriendship,evenruleshadbeen modified andcheckingontheice had to watch the game from the stands as she had fled from North Korea in 1997 aged 19. In friendly match in Seoul, one of the South’s best players, Hwang Bo-young, did not play. She 2006, forexample,when the national women’s ice hockey sidesofbothcountriesmetfora sual andinnovativemeasuresweretakentoavoidanyuncertainties orambiguities.InFebruary improve relationsandpromoteunitybetweenthetwocountries.Therefore,anumberofunu- Reunification’. directly to the North Korean capitalto participate in the ‘Pyongyang-Nampho Marathon for dered in a deep blue. In November 2005, a group of 150 South Korean marathon runners flew ers carriedthe unification flag,awhitebannerwiththe shape ofthe Korean peninsula embroi The displayofnationalflagswasstrictlyprohibited,andNorthSouthKoreanfootballplay Korean UnificationSoccerMatch’tookplaceinthesold-outWorldCupStadiumSeoul. Tournament’, withtwomatchesplayedinbothcapitals.Twoyearslater,2002,the‘Inter earlier thatyear.Tenyearslater,PyongyangandSeoulhostedthefirst‘UnificationBasketball through talksbetweenthesportsministersoftwoKoreasduringAsianGamesinBeijing both countries’capitals,SeoulandPyongyang.Thefriendlytournamenthadbecomepossible foster asenseofpan-Koreanunityandkeepthereunificationissueinpublicdiscourse. ‘unification sportsevents’.Theybecameimportantdiplomatictoolstoengagewiththeother, of sport.Mostnotableand great public interest weresport exchanges and the so-called This wasclearlyreflectedin,andstrengthenedby,variousformsofcooperationintheworld and prosperity for the whole Korean nation through multi-faceted people-to-people contacts. ultimately, achieve reunification. The‘SunshinePolicy’ focused on peace,reconciliation and encouragedculturalexchangespoliticalcooperationinordertonormaliserelationsand, the ‘SunshinePolicy’,favouredrapprochementandengagement,includedeconomicassistance in anewdirection.HisinnovativeandpragmaticforeignpolicytowardstheNorth,knownas President KimDae-jungsucceededforabouttenyearsinmovingthedividedKoreanpeninsula states graduallyimproved.Reunificationinitiativesproposedin1998byformerSouthKorean In theaftermathof1988SeoulOlympics,politicalrelationsbetweentwoKorean performance of theSouthKoreansoccerteam duringthe2002WorldCup finals.Themedia ale forthestate-controlledNorth Koreanmediaoccasionallyreportingontheoutstanding respective populationstheircommitment toreunification.Thatwascertainlyalsotheration grow andintensifydialogue, celebrate commonalitiesandunity,demonstratetotheir Summer OlympicsinBeijing, clearlydemonstratesthatbothcountrieswerekeentopromote, sporting cooperationandexchanges betweentheNorthandSouth,priorto2008 reflected thereconciliatoryspiritofthisevent. from bothcountries.Eventheteams’names,URI(meaning ‘we’) andHANA(meaning‘one’), petition betweenNorthandSouth,astwomixedteamswere formed,eachcomprisingplayers was invitedtoplayafriendlymatchintheSouth.Onthisoccasion, itdidnotleadtoacom- Both Koreashavebeendeadlyseriousabouttheuseofsportasadiplomatictoolinorderto The firstever‘UnificationFootballMatches’wereheldinOctober1990andtookplace This incompletebutexemplarylistof‘unificationsportsevents’ andthevariousformsof Inter-Korean sportsevents,exchangesandcooperation Only onemonthlater,anotherNorthKoreanicehockeyteam Udo Merkel Udo 32 - - -

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 national competitions. the symbolicpotencyofhigh-profilesportsevents,canalsobefoundincontextinter ment atthe1966WorldCupinEngland(Polley1998).Thesamestrategy,thatis,exploiting surprising successin2002shouldbeseenasacontinuationoftheNorth’simpressiveachieve- trolled by thestate-runKoreanCentralNewsAgency(KCNA),suggested that SouthKorea’s discourse inNorthKorea(Merkel2012b),whichisexclusivelyorchestratedandstrictlycon officials andaround250cheerleaderstoBusan. Games, hostedbythecityofBusaninSouthKorea.North Korea sent312athletes,111sport South Koreain2000,KimJong-ilandRohMoo-hyun,respectively, werethe2002Asian in ordertoachievesystemsurvival. ate andgloballyconveyanimageofpoliticalstabilityfavourable forforeigntradeandinvestment and selectivepeople-to-peoplecontacts.Atthesametime,it isimportantfortheNorthtocre or internationalnon-governmentalrelationswhilemaintaining strictcontroloverthelimited that sportsdiplomacywillboosttheirattemptstoestablishformalgovernment-to-government countries donothaveformaldiplomaticrelations.TheNorthKoreanregimeappearstobelieve that theNorthKoreansacceptedinvitationtotravelAmerica,althoughtwo Third FIFAWomen’sWorldCupintheUnitedStates.However,evenbiggersurprisewas to participate.In1999,NorthKorea’swomen’ssoccerteamqualifiedunexpectedlyforthe rulers hopetogainfromthepoliticallegitimacyconferredautomaticallyonanycountryinvited (Feffer 2003: 164), thepoliticaltensionson thedivided Korean peninsulawill remain high. democracy,division ultimatelyundermines intheregion humanrights, andeconomicprogress’ take Korea’s that ‘North asthoseoftheUnitedStatesandunderstands asseriously fears security mega-events’ tosporting tion through jointentries (2012: 101). As longas Washington doesnot pass apoliticalmessagetotheUnitedStatesmay have tothiscontinued coopera contributed infrontcountry) oftheathletesandcoaches. suggeststhat, Bridges ‘for bothKoreas adesire to dents ofbothnations’ Olympiccommitteesusuallyfollowed thetwo bearers(onefrom flag each shape oftheKorean peninsulaembroidered inadeepblue andusedthename ‘Korea’. The presi 2003 DaeguSummerUniversiade, they displayed theabove-mentioned withthe whiteflag opening ceremonies, atthe2002Busan Asian Games, the2003 Aomori Winter Gamesandthe two Korean teamsmarched together atthe2000Sydney, 2004 Athens and2006 Turin Olympic 2012:ing ceremonies (Bridges 94–107; Choi2002: 107–115; Jonsson 2006: 97–150). When the occasions, aunifiedteamfortheofficialopeningandclos On various formed bothcountries attract toremind theworld andtheir respective peopleoftheircommitmenttoreunification. Both Koreas have events regularly usedtheglobalmediaattentionthatmegasports tendto allowed toraise itsflagoutsidethebuildingsof thelocalmediacentreandorganising committee Although NorthKorea’sflag and anthemareofficiallybannedintheSouth,DPRK was Almost assignificantthefirstPyongyangsummitbetween thetwoleadersofNorthand Furthermore, byparticipatingregularlyininternationalsportingeventstheNorthKorean Such alargedelegationhadneverbeendispatchedbeforeor beenallowedtostayfor the ColdWarpopularculture. between NorthandSouthKoreans makingthemanimportantopportunitytodissolve such alongperiod.[. Contact anddialogueatglobalsportsspectacles

.] watchingthegamesprovidedrepeatedoneoncontacts Sports, foreign policy and diplonacy diplonacy and policy foreign Sports, 33 (Jonsson 2006:86) ------Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 Olympics, sport asadiplomatictooldidnot only ‘promotedétentebetween thetwoKoreas’ national community. kind sincetheendofKorean Warin1953andprovokedangryreactionsfromtheinter civilians, andsentthe local populationfleeing in terror.The artillery strike wasthe first of its surprising attacksetmorethan 60housesablaze,killedtwoSouthKoreansoldiersand two into thestadium. and South used the unification flag, wore identical outfits and walked together hand in hand most visible,andemotionallyreinforced,attheopeningceremony.AthletesfromNorth use officialDPRKinsignia.Asbefore,thepublicdisplayofbothcountries’desiretoreunitewas anthem wasplayedonseveraloccasionsandNorth Korean visitorsweregivenpermissionto official banneroftheDPRKwasexhibitedonSouthKoreanterritory.EvenNorthKorea’s in Busan.SincethedivisionofKoreanpeninsula1945,thiswasfirsttimethat of artilleryshellsontotheislandYeonpyeong,approximately 120 interaction betweenthem.Atthesametime,inNovember 2010,NorthKoreafireddozens only arailinginthestadiumseparatedspectatorsfromboth Koreancountries,therewasno was played, whilst DPRK fansignored SouthKorea’santhem and remained seated.Although Koreas. TheSouthKoreanbasketballteamturnedtheirbacks whenNorthKorea’santhem the absenceofanyreconciliatorygestures,signsgoodwill and cooperationbetweenthetwo tries didnotevenmarchtogetherattheopeningceremonyof the2008BeijingOlympics. reconciliation, whichwasaccessibletoSouthKoreans.Both eventsmeantthatthetwocoun area neartheMountGeumgangresort,apopulartouristdestination andsymbolofcross-border an important role. The53-year-oldwomanwas shotafterwanderingintoafenced-offmilitary Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier in July 2008 in the south-east of North Korea played and politicalcooperationtothede-nuclearisationofNorth.Second,killingaSouth doned their successful strategy and replaced it with his ‘Vision 3000’, which tied economic aid (1998–2003) whohadwontheNobelPeacePriceforhis‘SunshinePolicy’in2000.Leeaban tougher stancethanhisliberalpredecessorsRohMoo-hyun(2003–2008)andKimDae-jung impact oninter-Koreanrelations.SouthKorea’snewpresident,LeeMyung-bak,tookamuch of theirpoliticalrelationship. politics, was,however,underminedbytwosignificanteventsthatcausedaseveredeterioration willingness toengageconstructivelywiththeSouthandgraduallyabandonitsisolationist inter-Korean effortstotravelonestepfurtherintheircooperation(Kim2006).NorthKorea’s tators saw the declaration of intention itself as a major breakthrough and a new milestone for agree on the principles guiding the selection of athletes. Nevertheless, many political commen- tion, thetwoKoreasdidnotcompeteasoneteamatBeijingOlympicstheycould communication andresponsibilities;finally,finances.Aftertwoyearsofintensenegotia the actualselectionofathletes; second, harmonisingtrainingmethods;third,agreeinglinesof Committee was skeptical and predictedfour major challenges: first, the principlesdetermining ment oftheultimateforeignpolicygoalreunification.TheSouthKoreanNationalOlympic extension toyearsofinter-Koreanrapprochementandanimportantmilestonetowardsfulfill symbolic reconciliationofthedividedKoreanpeopleonestepfurtherseemedtobelogical sidelines ofthe2005EastAsianGamesinMacauandfullysupportedbyIOC.Taking principle, toformaunifiedteamforthe2008BeijingOlympics.Thedealwasstruckon petitions, inNovember2005,sportadministratorsfromNorthandSouthKoreaagreed, What theseexamplesshowclearly isthat,duringthedecadebefore2008Beijing After previouslymarchingtogetherattheopeningceremoniesofseveralinternationalcom Two yearslater,Chinahostedthe2010AsiadinGuangzhou. Thiseventwasmarkedby First, theoutcomeofgeneralelectionsinSouthKoreaFebruary2008hadahuge Udo Merkel Udo 34

km westofSeoul.The ------Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 and ontothechessboardofinternationalrelations. a century.Theyconstituteonlysmallstepsthatcanhavepositiveeffectsbeyondtheplayingfield were notacure-allforpoliticaltensions,animositiesandconflictsthathaveexistedoverhalf profile international events and the popular ‘unificationsportsevents’, these kind ofexchanges discourse. Despite the two Koreas marching together at various opening ceremonies of high- (Levermore andBudd2004:3)butwasalsousedtokeeptheissueofreunificationinpublic sula astheultimate achievementthatwillsecure aprosperousfuturefor thewholenation. Korea. TheArirangFestival even describestheunificationofdividedKoreanpenin is largelyduetotheabove-mentioned leadershipandfundamentalpolicychangesinSouth repeatedly uttering,‘Howmuch longerdowehavetobedivideddueforeignforces?’ halves apart.Atthesametime, thebackdropcreatedacolourfulpanoramaofKoreanchildren orably driftedasunder;achingarmswereoutstretchedinfutility asunseenforcespulledthetwo whole Koreanpeninsula.Subsequently,thesouthernandnorthern halvesofthepeninsulainex people. Severalhundredyoungperformersmagicallyassembled intotheperfectshapeof and Bairner2009:394). ism but includesSouthKoreansandpromotes‘anextremeform ofethnocentricKoreannational other issue. The celebrationof Korean unity is not restrictedto the NorthKorean population, Korean division,unity,nationalismandreunification.They featuremorefrequentlythanany (Hill 2003:152). goes farbeyondpropaganda‘crude,didactic package with acomplexand multi-layered political agenda (Merkel 2008 and 2010),which The combinationofthesethreeelementsoffersanimpressivespectacleandahighlypoliticised element and links the performance in the centre of the May Day stadium with the backdrop. such completeunisonthattheseimagesappeartobeanimated.Themusicconstitutesthethird coloured cardsthatarepartofabookwithalmost200pages.Theyturnthemsoquicklyandin and KimJong-il(1941–2011),sloganscartoons.Morethan20,000schoolchildrenholdup tecture, portraits of individuals, such as the country’s previous leaders, Kim Il-sung (1912–1994) and detailedpanoramasofhistoricalcontemporaryevents,achievements,landscapes,archi- dancers incolourfulcostumes.Second,thebackdrop,agianthumanmosaicformingelaborate acrobats (withpoles,ladders,springboards,trampolinesandhugemetal-framedwheels) thousands ofyounggymnasts(withlargeartificialflowers,flags,hoops,balls,ropesandclubs), tre ofthestadium,complexandhighlychoreographedgrouproutinesperformedbytens 150,000 spectators.Theshowscompriseandcombinethreedistinctelements:first,inthecen celebrated thesixtiethanniversaryoffoundationDPRK. Festival, whichpremieredin2002,andthe‘ProsperourMotherland’showof2008, grown grander,moresophisticatedandprominent(Burgeson2005).MostnotableistheArirang the lastdecades,sincebeginningofthismillennium,thesemoreorlessannualeventshave also contributetoitsforeignpolicy.AlthoughtheNorthhasregularlyhostedmassgamesover activities withtheSouthasdiplomatictools.Thecountry’sunusualbutspectacularmassgames North Koreadoesnotonlyrelyonsymbolicgestures,people-to-peoplecontactsandjoint More recently,thereunification themehasbecomemoreprominentthaneverbefore.This One ofthesetsdepictedadramatictheatricalrepresentation ofthedivisionKorean This spectacleisfullofpoliticalmeaningsandmessages.Most prominentarethethemesof They usuallytakeplaceinPyongyang’sgiganticMayDaystadium,whichcanhostupto

that expressesprideandself-esteembasedonthegreatnessof theKoreannation’(Lee North Korea’smassgamesasaforeignpolicytool Sports, foreign policy and diplonacy diplonacy and policy foreign Sports, 35

we associatewithtotalitarianism’ - - - -

Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 (Merkel 2012a). drive thereunificationoftwocountriesforwardbuthavenotyetbeenfullyimplemented alism andunityreferredexplicitlytospecificmeetingstreatiesthatwereintended The ‘ProsperourMotherland’show,wentbeyondtheemotionalcelebrationofKoreannation the publicdiscourse. Consideringthedeclining supportforreunificationamong youngpeople keeping the highly emotional issueofreunification,currentlyan unrealistic political dream, in ties atbothgrassrootsandhigher levels.Inter-Koreansportencounterswereanefficientway of spectacular one-offgestures,but asplanned,thought-through,structuredandmeaningfulactivi show thatsportisabletomake considerablecontributionstointernationalrelations–not as systematically tosenddiplomatic signalsandpursuespecificforeignpolicygoals.Theseefforts and dialoguebetweenthetwoKoreanstates.Nationalinternational sportseventswereused their overarchingforeignpolicyagendaandprovidedamulti-layered networkforengagement a decadepriortothe2008BeijingOlympics,sportwasanintegral andhighlyvisibleelementof non-governmental organisations, has helped to build contacts and improve relations. For almost Korean peninsula,wheretheuseofsportasadiplomatictool bybothgovernments,aswell and bridgeprofounddifferences.Thispotentialhasbeensystematically exploitedonthedivided international recognition. as avehicleforbuilding,reinforcingandpromotingdistinctive national identityandgaining through boycottsorattemptstomarginalisestatesintheworld ofinternationalsport;and,third, high-profile meansofpubliclyexpressingdisapprovalanother country’sactions,forexample promote relationswithandwinsupportamongdevelopingcountries;second,asacheapbut cal superiorityoftheirpoliticalsystems,consolidateand/orgaininternationalrecognition,and 1999), usedtheoftenoutstandingsuccessoftheirtop-levelathletestodemonstrateideologi West Germany,theformerSovietUnion(Riordan1978and1980)EastGermany(Merkel when bothcapitalistandcommunistcountries,forexampletheUnitedStates(Sage1998), tional sportseventshavebeendominatedbythreemajorpatterns:first,duringtheColdWar, For most of the post-Second World War period,the hosting of and participation in interna from allovertheworld,particularlyEurope(Paris2013). birthday celebrations of KimIl-sung and theArirangFestivalattracted several thousandtourists clearly unlesstherewereselectgroupsofforeigners to witnessit.In2012,the hundredth show thestrengthandstabilityofNorthKorea.Thismessagewouldnotbeheardloudly Pyongyang andwatchtheArirangspectacle.Thatdegreeofopennesswasclearlyintendedto South Koreancitizenswere,forthefirsttime,allowedtoflydirectlyfromSeoul(Incheon) Faiol 2005:37). and CubaaswellhighrankingvisitorsfromMexicoahostofothernations’(Cho allowing themtovisitPyongyang.‘ThefestivalbroughtofficialdelegationsfromChina,Russia this extravaganzafirst-hand(Watts2005).EvenAmericanswereissuedwithshort-termvisas, Arirang Festival (Watts 2002); three years later, more foreigners than ever before experienced economic hardship. Korea thatdistractsfromthecountry’sautocraticpoliticalsystem,prevalentmilitarismand key foreignpolicyobjective;namely,togenerateanalternativeglobaldiscourseaboutNorth local spectatorsaswelltheinternationalmedia.Thisisparticularlyimportantforanother icy messagesis,ofcourse,thepresencewitnesses,preferablylargenumbersforeignand One ofthefundamentalpreconditionsforsuccessfullycommunicatingtheseforeignpol However, sportseventscanalsofacilitateinternationalcooperation, increaseunderstanding Along withagrowingnumberofcuriousWesternspectators,in2005ordinary In 2002,onlyasmallnumberofforeignerswereallowedtoattendthe Conclusion Udo Merkel Udo 36 - - - - - Downloaded By: 10.3.98.104 At: 17:41 28 Sep 2021; For: 9781315761930, chapter3, 10.4324/9781315761930.ch3 ness andimprovingitsquestionablereputation. 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