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Most Recent Articles
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- Examining International Relations In The Realm Of Sports Through History
Although the precise origins of the connection between sports and international relations remain obscure, all cultures have participated over the course of history in different physical contests that fostered cultural exchange and contributed to their citizens' political discourse. The ancient Egyptians swam, raced, wrestled, and played games with balls. The ancient Greeks held large athletic festivals, including the Olympic Games that drew athletes' attention from all over the ancient world. Two of the very first 'nations' to engage their athletes in sport competitions, were the Greeks and the Romans. They competed in various athletic events like chariot races, or throwing the javelin, often relying on the participation of animals, or on the use of mechanical contrivances, a tradition continued into modern times in sports such as dog racing, horse racing, and shooting.
During the Middle Ages, the cultural isolation imposed by the feudal system and religious doctrine that opposed the use of the body for play hampered the development of organised sport in the Western world. For many centuries, contests between knights in tournaments that emphasised military skill were among the only forms of approved, public sports. In the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods, games and exercise attained renewed popularity. As had been the case in ancient times, however, politics and social class circumscribed activity. Sports that required wealth or leisure, such as polo or falconry, were the province of the upper classes, affluent nations, while inexpensive, massed sports, such as soccer, took root among commoners and underdeveloped countries.
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