SSD 13:1 2017 78 Eventually, its visions of Asian integration under Nehru ledtothehostingof underNehru Asianintegration Eventually, itsvisionsof theAsianRelations in1947. by Conference organizing integrating of 2016, 99). (Huebner Asian regionalintegration of intothecontext also beingincorporated ,, andthePhilippines.Paradoxically, idealswere sporting western was onlyheldonce. thistime, Around processeswere nationalism ontherisein WAG,The recession. severe problems. ontheotherhand,suffered logistical It Americans connectedwiththeYMCA. by events assimilatingAsiathroughsporting organized embraced theideaof theFECG. countries Participating andexecution of controlled themanagement somewhat muted duringtheseGames. Duringtheearlyyears,Asians hardly and their“civilizing” (Huebner2016,52).Asianthemesandmotifswere effects ideals the Gamestoglobalize“”basedonamateursports Men’sAssociation (YMCA)Physical Christian Elwood Director Brown founded Manchukuo anditsrighttojointheFECG. of Asia,” thestatus concerning “mutually particularly exclusive visionsof because of anti-colonialnationalisms event intositesthat mirrored after thesporting turned which evolved(FECG 1913–1934), intotheWestern AsiaticGames(WAG 1934), theFar ChampionshipGames Eastern Aspirations” totheestablishment of Asian Games). Asiad (The the and heframeshisargumentswithinthecontextsnature of development policy, forsuch “Asia” identityisfor goal thedesirable tobe“One”, and ,modernization ix). For StefanHuebner, ahistorianof Western dominance(MitterandIriye2007, counterargument tothechallenge of andprovide nationalisms between aconvincingmediate emergent “Asian” thatan Iriyesuggest Rana MitterandAkira identitycouldsomehow (SaalerandSzpilman2011).Inthisregard, historians cooperation, andintegration Asian solidarity, regional Pan-Asianism asanidealof was constructed largely After World War itspostcolonialforeignpolicy II,Indiasoughttopromote worldwide economic By the1930s, asaresultof theFECGfailedlargely says Huebner. FECGwas anAmericanconstruct, The ManilaYoungFormer “SportivePan-Asian Huebnertracestheoriginsof book, In hisfascinating Pan-Asian sports and the emergence of modern Asia, modern andtheemergence of Pan-Asian sports : NUSPress,Singapore: 416pages 2016, Edited by StefanHuebner ISBN: 978-981-47-2203-2 1913-1974 B OK underscored Thailand’sunderscored inthe1965and1966MissUniverse pageants victory authorities.between civilian Bangkok andmilitary GameslikewiseThe intensecooperation successfulbecauseof and SixthAsiad(1966,1970)was hugely theFifth cooperation andnation-branding. Bangkok’s Inaddition, hostingof that included politicalentitiessuchas IsraelandTaiwan” (Huebner 2016). andegalitarianism toas“(universal) internationalisms referred Huebner with what a non-aligned(pro-socialist)AsiaunderSukarno, entangled andhow thesegot 2016,14). (Huebner and competentcountry” both Games, Post-War Japan was demonstratedtobe “Asia’s mostdeveloped identity, becauseJapan Byhosting largely embracedpeacefulinternationalism. arenewed Pan-Asian sportive became asignificantfactorinthedevelopment of in obtainingpeaceacrossAsia. the members of created theimpressionthat the UnitedStatescharacterizedAsiad. Inmanyways, theSecond theGames member-countries alignedwith of participation Asiad inManila.Second The FECG andtheWAG before. manyyears andvalues fromthespiritthat notquitedifferent launched norms the amateur of onthemessage Gamesfocused the FirstAsiadinNew in1951. The Delhi, host country. Every staging of the Asiad was also determined to “change the to“change theAsiad was alsodetermined host country. of staging Every the project thevisionsandaspirations, nottomentionthecelebrated pastof asanoccasionto largely Asiadanditsprevious editionsserved The across Asia. Asia, 1913–1974 today. theGamesinshapingAsiaasweknow it of theimportance in bringingabout Asiad. Inmanyways, the and associationsthatbroughtabout hewas successful 15). Persian theGreat (Huebner 2016, Empire of basedonthelegacy Iran, Shah of legitimizingthehostcountry’scooperation while planunderthe modernization China andmanyArabcountries. anti-Soviet Italsoencouraged Pan-Asian the1973oilcrisis. Butfinally,Tehran the of from Asiad welcomed delegates enthusiastic benefactorforAsiancountriessufferingfromthedebilitatingeffects 2016). (Huebner culturalheritage” nevertheless embraceditsBuddhist established theKingdom’s asa “rapidly that image developing country hasaKing!”) and theKing(“Thailand also amplifiedthepersonalitycultof By thelate1960s, Asiadbecameanarenaforanti-communist Asian The theAsiadwere complicatedby Indonesia’sSuccessive visionof editionsof in1964, ’s Asiad in 1958,andtheXVIIOlympiad theThird hostingof Basketball, soccer, andathleticswere themostpopularevents duringthe Huebner’s clear. pointisvery uniquelyidentifiedindividuals,In hisbook,Huebner institutions, alliances, asan theSeventh Asiad(1974)projectedthehostcountry Iran’s hostingof is not just about sports and the evolution of sporting events sporting andtheevolutionis notjustabout of sports a-sa prsadteEegneo Modern of Pan-Asian andtheEmergence Sports “communist bloc”were notinterested 1 . It

R E V I E W S 79 SSD 13:1 2017 80 h eto theworld. the restof Hosting theGamesiseminentlybutamatterofnational prideandprojectionto officials. sponsorsandsporting fascination, much tothedelight of objects of country’sparticular leadershiporforeignpolicy. Starathletesarebeinghyped as theGamesduetoshiftsina and globalpolitics. Countriesmay bebootedoutof (Dimeo 2004,165–178). “civilizing mission” asa leadersoutsidetheregion sports perceived by anumber of Western toAsiaisstillbeing sport transferof 114). (Creak 2013, The the rest” West “the and of studiestothinkinterms andglobalization tendency insport identities.regional Yet, ashistorian SimonCreaknotes, thereremainsastrong fromtheWest traditions appropriated sporting and tohelpbuildlocal,national, Asiadanditsprevious incarnations The nationalism. of persisting expressions andcultivating amateursports genuinely promoting theregion. cooperation across these Games. circumstancescompetedfrequentlywiththeidealof These during athletesparticipating of officialsbetween affectedthestatus sporting many andorganizers. andin-fighting for Asiadsponsors Crass commercialism concern greater cults, personality however, becameissuesof of and thepromotion nationalisticpride. anAsiadmedalhasbecomeamatterof Winning development. Morepeoplesoughttowatchand infrastructural theGameslive. watchfinally theGameslive was massive ontelevision.There mediacoverage From themid-1960sonwards, advancements enabled viewers to intechnology andquitefrequently,participation atoolfordiplomacyamongAsiannations. fortheOlympicGames.dress rehearsal forinternational Italsobecameaforum 2016). (Huebner building” supported carefully whatHuebnerdescribesas“culturalelementsthattheirown nation- thehostcountry’s politicalandfinancialelite, craftingvery of intervention nobleintention,however,regionalism. This bywas the frequently marred anti-Western ananti-colonial, thenotionof tosupport conceptualized China (Huebner2016,266). Manchukuo,included excludedTaiwan orsubstitutedTaiwan andIsrael with Asia,” which attimes theGamesaccordingtoanewvisionof shapeof regional are stillhaving theirfieldday. problematic. remains Itisnowonder integration thepundits regional construct, vis-à-vistheWestpower asymmetry andamongAsiannationspersists. Asasocial a“backward” andAsiaasnolonger andcolonialregion, Asia throughsport, Ultimately, thesh forallthetalksurrounding regional Quite frequently, Asiadeditionisvulnerable tothedemandsof every Huebnernotes,In theend, Pan-Asian power, isallabout Sports politics, and politicswithinandbetween federations, nation-branding, sporting Large-scale Even so, despitemanysetbacks andcontroversies, the Asiad evolved asAsia’s the Asiad, theGameswere thecheckeredThroughout of history aping of a “stronger”, “healthier” a“stronger”, aping of References Notes R EVIW Saaler, Sven,andChristopherW.A. Szpilman.2011. Mitter, Rana,andAkiraIriye.2007.Preface.In Huebner, Stefan.2016. [email protected] University ofthePhilippinesDiliman Jose Wendell P. Capili, PhD Dimeo, Paul.2004.“Sportingandthe‘Civilizing’MissioninIndia.”In Creak, Simon.2013.“RepresentingTrue LaoinPost-ColonialSoutheastAsia:Regional .ApasraHongsakulawascrownedMissUniverse1965on24JulyinMiamiBeach. 1. (Maryland): RowmanandLittlefield. by EriHotta. NewYork: PalgraveMacmillan. Singapore: NUSPress. in BritishIndia,:AnthemPress. Civilizing Mission Routledge. Identities Dynamics intheGlobalizationofSport.”In Margareta ArvidssonofSweden. Her successor, ChrarandSavetanand,became2nd runner-up toMissUniverse1966 , editedbyKatrinBromber, BirgitKrawietz,andJosephMaguire.NewYork: , editedbyHaraldFischer-Tine andMichaelMann.CulturalIdeology Pan-Asian SportsandtheEmergenceofModernAsia,1913–1974 Pan-Asianism andJapan’s War 1931–1945 Sport AcrossAsia:Politics,Culturesand Pan-Asianism: 1920-Present Colonialism as . Lanham . ,

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