Play the Game 2017 for Better and for Worse, Sport Has Become a Key Instrument Of
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Title: War by Other Means: International Sport Corruption as an Instrument of Statecraft Application: 5/1 Applicant: Mr Akaash Maharaj Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) 1 Station A Toronto ON M5W 1A2 Canada [email protected] Tel: +1 (416) 995 3275 Application details: Category: Governance in sport: Change or be changed? -- Type: Other -- Keywords: corruption, diplomacy, international affairs, diplomacy, statecraft, crime, law enforcement, regulation, oversight, conflict of interest -- summary: Sport has become a key instrument of statecraft, as much as diplomacy, defence, or intelligence. To the extent that sport becomes captive to political corruption, it becomes an instrument to prop up tyrannies and to undermine the rule of law. Accordingly, there is a global public interest in establishing independent, democratic oversight of sport organisations\' compliance with legal and ethical standards. -- Abstract: The Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) is a worldwide association of legislators who have come together to combat corruption, strengthen democracy, and uphold the rule of law. We have sixty national chapters and individual members in almost every parliament of the world. Historically, we have focussed on issues such as anti-money laundering, anti-corruption in public procurement, and anti-kleptocracy at the highest levels of the state. In recent years, however, we have become increasingly involved in the struggle for sport integrity. Play the Game 2017 For better and for worse, sport has become a key instrument of Grantfolio v2.0 - 2017-12-14 - 4 - Abstract submission 1 of 281 statecraft, as much as diplomacy and aid, as much as defence and intelligence. At its best, sport can be an unrivalled force for good in the world. It can take bitter enemies and bring them together as peers around a shared passion. It can champion equality of opportunity in the pursuit of excellence. It can excite hope in the midst of despair. There is a reason “the level playing field” has become the universal metaphor for fairness and meritocracy. But at its worst, sport can be little more than a drug-addled carnival of false glory and mindless chauvinism. It can be the currency for tyrants to buy a place at the table of international affairs and thus a veneer of respectability. It can be the pretext for kleptocrats to plunder their states and to brand their critics as unpatriotic. It can be a tool to distract and stupefy populations who might otherwise rise up against their oppressors. Accordingly, we believe that the struggle for sport integrity has implications far beyond the playing field. The fact that corrupt regimes have become increasingly drawn to international sport, to gain the influence and legitimacy they are unable to win through good governance, creates both a grave threat to sport and a rare opportunity for the global rule of law. We will argue that some sport organisations have become the willing instruments of corrupt regimes. Simultaneously, other sport organisations have gained a power craved by major global institutions: the ability to enforce deterrence and meaningful consequences against corrupt states, by denying them entry into international sport. We will discuss what measures nations, athletes, sponsors, and citizens can take to ensure that their organisations are part of the solution, rather than part of the problem, of state-driven corruption. -- References: http://gopacnetwork.org/programs/participation-of-society/ https://www.maharaj.org/blog/2016_10_14.shtml http://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-its-crucial-to- strengthen-the-world-anti-doping-agency -- Funding: Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption (GOPAC) -- Play the Game 2017 Grantfolio v2.0 - 2017-12-14 - 4 - Abstract submission 2 of 281 Title: Ethics of a relaxed antidoping rule accompanied by harm-reduction measures Application: 6/1 Applicant: Prof Bengt Kayser University of Lausanne Institute of sports science Géopolis, Unil-Mouline Lausanne 1015 Switzerland [email protected] Tel: Co-Applicant: Prof Jan Tolleneer University of Leuven FABER Belgium [email protected] Application details: Category: The global fight against doping: Facing a breakthrough or a breakdown? -- Type: Academic -- Keywords: doping, anti-doping, ethics, harm-reduction, substance abuse, war on drugs -- summary: What would an introduction of harm reduction for doping in sports imply? We analyze this question on 5 levels, the athlete (the self), other athletes (the other), sport as a game and its fair play basis (the play), the spectator and the role of sports in society (the display) and for what some consider as essential to being human (humanity). We discuss the ethical aspects of such a policy change. -- Abstract: Harm-reduction approaches are used to reduce the burden of risky human behavior without necessarily aiming to stop the behavior. We discuss what an introduction of harm reduction for doping in sports would mean in parallel with a relaxation of the anti-doping rule. We analyze Play the Game 2017 what is ethically at stake in the following five levels: (1) What would it Grantfolio v2.0 - 2017-12-14 - 4 - Abstract submission 3 of 281 mean for the athlete (the self)? (2) How would it impact other athletes (the other)? (3) How would it affect the phenomenon of sport as a game and its fair play basis (the play)? (4) What would be the consequences for the spectator and the role of sports in society (the display)? and (5) What would it mean for what some consider as essential to being human (humanity)? For each level, we present arguments for and against doping and then discuss what a harm-reduction approach, within a dynamic regime of a partially relaxed anti-doping rule, could imply. We find that a harm-reduction approach is morally defensible and potentially provides a viable escape out of the impasse resulting from the impossibility of attaining the eradication of doping. The following question remains to be answered: Would a more relaxed position, when combined with harm- reduction measures, indeed have less negative consequences for society than today’s all-out anti-doping efforts that aim for abstinence? We provide an outline of an alternative policy, allowing a cautious step-wise change to answer this question and then discuss the ethical aspects of such a policy change. -- References: Kayser, B., & Tolleneer, J. (2017). Ethics of a relaxed antidoping rule accompanied by harm-reduction measures. Journal of Medical Ethics, medethics–2015–102659. http://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2015-102659 -- Funding: No conflict of interest -- Play the Game 2017 Grantfolio v2.0 - 2017-12-14 - 4 - Abstract submission 4 of 281 Title: How to protect the clean athletes? Application: 7/1 Applicant: Dr David Müller Nationale Anti-Doping Agentur Austria GmbH Rennweg 46-50 / Top 8 Vienna 1030 Austria [email protected] Tel: Application details: Category: The global fight against doping: Facing a breakthrough or a breakdown? -- Type: Academic -- Keywords: Anti-Doping Framework, Harmonization, Governance, Doping-equivalent behavior, Education, Repression -- summary: The events of recent years have illustrated once more that, despite the many positive developments in anti-doping work, much more progress is required to guarantee the fundamental right of each and every athlete to prove their skills in a fair and clean competition. Some propositions of the following agenda could be implemented immediately, while others will take effect in the long run; nevertheless, each step is important to protect the clean athletes. -- Abstract: Anti-doping work can only be successful if athletes are not only participating, but actively engaging and promoting their right to compete in clean and fair sport. To achieve this, there is a strong need for strategic realignment, improvement of doping control programs, support from criminal investigating bodies, as well as structural and person- centred prevention. Anti-doping work needs full independence from the sport establishment to be credible and effective. A real separation of powers implies the establishment of an “International Anti-Doping Service” (IADS) as a missing link in the international anti-doping framework besides the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). WADA must be strengthened to impose Play the Game 2017 sanctions on noncomplying organisations and countries, based on Grantfolio v2.0 - 2017-12-14 - 4 - Abstract submission 5 of 281 accreditation and review processes, benchmarking and quality controls. The highest standards of good governance must apply to anti-doping organisations. Sports organisations, major event organizers, sport sponsors, media institutes and public authoritiesmust contribute to a global antidoping fund to provide sufficient funding for the new anti- doping framework. The cooperation with criminal investigation bodies is fundamental to identify not only cheating individuals but uncover whole networks. The use of certain substances and methods should be considered under criminal law. Structural preventive measures can contribute an important part, but must go hand in hand with values-based education. Spreading information must not be misjudged as education and education without research is like testing without intelligence: A waste of time, money, and effort. Some propositions of this paper could be implemented immediately,while others will take effect in the long run;