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Why Does Lebanon Fail in Sports? A Book Discussion Dr. Danyel Reiche, Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, AUB Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs Friday, September 16, 2016 Summary by Stephanie Clough To recognize Dr. Danyel Reiche’s book Success and Failure of Countries at the Olympic Games published by Routledge in July of this year, a book discussion was held at the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs. Reiche is an associate professor of comparative politics at the American University of Beirut (AUB). The opted format of the event was to invite a number of different stakeholders from the Lebanese sports sector to discuss what Lebanon can learn from Reiche’s work in an effort to improve sports in Lebanon, both domestically and on the world stage. Dr. Hilal Khashan, professor of political science and chair of AUB’s Department of Political Studies and Public Administration, introduced Reiche by first laying out the questions the book seeks to answer: Why are countries aiming for success at the Olympic Games? And, which policy instruments are countries implementing in order to achieve success in sports? According to Khashan, Lebanon’s success in international sports could potentially be a source of national pride and work toward improving social integration. International media exposure of Success and Failure of Countries at the Olympic Games has been considerable; Khashan ended his introduction by citing an article from Fareed Zakaria, an Indian- American journalist, CNN host and author, who referenced Reiche’s book in his weekly Washington Post column. Zakaria states, “It turns out that good public policy is key, says Danyel Reiche, who has written a book to try to explain the secrets of Olympic success. He asks, for instance, why Kenya is able to win 29 times as many medals as Saudi Arabia, though it is 17 times poorer. His answer is a policy formula that he terms “WISE,” which breaks down into four areas: empower women in order to unlock the potential of half the population; build strong sports institutions in the country; specialize in some sports; and become an early adopter of new techniQues and sports.” Moderator Joseph Abi Chahine, a sports journalist at Agence France-Presse (AFP) who covered the Summer Olympics in Rio and hosts a weekly sports program on Mayadeen TV, began where Reiche’s book leaves off, that a widening gap exists between countries which win medals at the Olympic Games and those which are merely “spectators in the ‘Gold War.” The former consists primarily of developed countries with governments that actively engage in and financially support the sports sector, and which adopt best practices in elite sports. The “spectator” countries, many of which are developing countries, including Lebanon, do not implement strategies that promote sports, which would enable athletes to elevate their competitiveness on the international level. Typically, Lebanon does not win medals at the Olympic Games; it has won a total of four medals in its history at the Olympic Games, the last in 1980. Lebanese athletes often participate as a result of invitation rather than qualifying for Olympic events, and are eliminated in the initial rounds of competition. Participation at the Olympic Games is Lebanon’s primary achievement. Yet, there are developing countries, which consistently perform well at the Olympic Games, including Kenya and Ethiopia in running, and Cuba in boxing. Chahine inquired why, as a specialist in comparative politics, Reiche chose to write a book on sports. Reiche explained that governments are increasingly involved in the sports sector and government expenditure for sports is growing, consequently, the “Gold War” phenomenon has emerged as a way for countries to display their dominance. Countries are no longer at war with one another as frequently as before, and the number of democracies in the world is higher than it has ever been. The “Democracy Peace Theory,” which states that democracies are less likely to be at war with one another, does not mean that countries cease to compete with one another. Countries compete for military and economic power, as well as soft power and “sports, in particular the Olympic Games, are the perfect platform to compete for soft power.” Reiche explained that success at the Olympic Games should be determined on a case-by- case basis. The United States has a history of being a top-ranked sports nation. At the opposite end of the spectrum there is, for example, Palestine, which began participating in the Olympic Games in 1996 and has not yet gained full recognition through the UN. The IOC has 206 members, while the UN has 193; thus, some countries such as Palestine and Kosovo were successful in first gaining membership to the IOC. Mr. Ramadan, a member of the Lebanese National Olympic Committee, acknowledged that it is the government’s decision to consider sports as either a leisure activity or an important sector deserving of considerable support. Until the sports sector in Lebanon is prioritized, achieving more medals at the Olympic Games will not be possible. Mr. Issa-El-Khoury, a varsity coach at the American University of Beirut and 1984 participant at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, added that sports at the university level have not been a priority. However, league participation will help in promoting sports in universities. AUB, for example, is in a league with seven other universities and is attempting to add track and field to the league. Mr. Nassif, an assistant professor at Notre Dame University, created a new sports ranking to more accurately evaluate countries’ sports performances. Mr. Nassif’s ranking system takes into account a number of factors which the IOC does not, including the popularity of each sport- resulting in a higher level of competitiveness in that sport-and its universality, or the number of organizations where the sport is played. Nassif believes this sports ranking system more accurately reflects a country’s performance. And, perhaps most importantly, the ranking system allows every country to be ranked, unlike the IOC ranking system that lists only medaling countries. In 2014 Lebanon was ranked 95th and in 2015 ranked 97th, according to Nassif’s system. As a means of improving sporting success, Reiche proposes countries to adopt the WISE formula. Promoting women in sports is the first component of the strategy. At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, five of the nine Lebanese participants were women, demonstrating that Lebanon is more inclusive than other countries in the region. It is very difficult to be successful at the Olympics if a country excludes half of its population. Iran, for example, won 60 medals in its history at the Olympic Games prior to Rio; all of these medals were won by men. If female Iranian athletes had also won 60 medals, Iran would be considered a medium Olympic power. (An Iranian woman did win the Bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Taekwondo.) China, in comparison, began participating in the Olympic Games in 1984 and strongly promotes female athletes. The majority of China’s medal winners have been women. Issa-El-Khoury echoed this strategy of female inclusion and support: “I think that women should be well promoted because we are in a region where women are not well promoted. So, for Lebanon it is a good chance to promote women. That would help tremendously. I think that is the target.” The institutionalization of sports is the second component of the WISE strategy. Ramadan stated that geography and climate are factors in determining which sports may be best, and stressed the importance of the publication of books on sports. “I can see the dedication and passion of Professor Danyel in trying to help us. The work is on and there are a lot of ideas and schools of thought, whether it is bottom-up like Europe or top-down like China. To me, of course, it is important to have a sports culture. The medals themselves do not always reflect how a sport is popular in the country.” Specialization in sports is another component of the WISE strategy. Reiche explained that there is a global trend in focusing on medal promising sports. Examples of sports specialization include Cuba in boxing, Denmark in cycling, and Australia in swimming. When a country has limited resources, such as Lebanon, specialization can be key to medal contention. “I think it’s not impossible for a country like Lebanon with limited resources to become successful in sports and it needs a strategic approach and specialization, meaning identifying sports,” stated Reiche. Chahine broached the subject of corruption in Lebanese sports and whether it acts as a considerable barrier to Lebanese sports. Nassif conceded that corruption in sports in Lebanon is a problem, in addition to the lack of a budget for sports. Furthermore, it is not evident where and how the money allotted to sports in Lebanon, approximately US$ 2 million per year, is being spent. According to Mr. Nassif, a number of fictitious associations exist only for the sake of its members to receive money. “We have many problems with sports in Lebanon. We do not have a lot of money. There is not a big fan base, and very few sponsors. But corruption is a very big issue. We need to face it with really big, hard work,” stated Nassif. Mr. Abbedelnour, president of the Lebanese Sports Press Federation and a senior editor at Al Hayat newspaper, added that the media should address corruption in Lebanese sports. Addressing sports in Lebanon more broadly, he stated, “We need collective work. The policy is not only to have money.

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