World politics by other means? London, City diplomacy and the olympics

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy

Volumn 8, Issue 3-4, 2013, Pages 287-311

  Acuto, Michele ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

2012 Summer Olympic Games; city diplomacy; climate change; London; mayors; Olympics; public diplomacy

Indexed keywords

EID: 84893141761     PISSN: 18711901     EISSN: 1871191X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1163/1871191X-12341255     Document Type: Review

References (61)

1. As well demonstrated in Nicholas J. Cull, 'The Public Diplomacy of the Modern Olympic Games and China's Soft Power Strategy', in Monroe E. Price and Daniel Dayan (eds), Owning the Olympics: Narratives of the New China (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2008), pp. 117-144.
2. Peter Horton, 'Sport as Public Diplomacy and Public Disquiet', The International Journal of the History of Sport, vol. 25, no. 7, 2008, pp. 851-875.
3. Brian Hocking, 'Patrolling the "Frontier": Globalization, Localization and the "Actorness" of Non-Central Governments', Regional and Federal Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 1999, p. 17;
4. Michele Acuto, 'Global Cities: Gorillas in Our Midst', Alternatives, vol. 35, no. 4, 2010, pp. 425-448 at p. 426.
5. Patrick Le Galès, European Cities: Social Conflicts and Governance (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 262.
6. See Michele Acuto, Global Cities, Governance and Diplomacy: The Urban Link (London: Routledge, 2013).
7. Ivo D. Duchacek, Daniel Latouche and Garth Stevenson, Perforated Sovereignties and International Relations: Trans-Sovereign Contacts of Subnational Governments (New York: Greenwood Press, 1988).
8. Francisco Aldecoa and Michael Keating, 'Paradiplomacy in Action: The Foreign Relations of Subnational Governments', in John Loughlin (ed.), Cass Series in Regional and Federal Studies (London: Routledge, 1999);
9. André Lecours, 'Paradiplomacy: Reflections on the Foreign Policy and International Relations of Regions', International Negotiation, vol. 7, no. 1, 2002, pp. 91-114;
10. Zheng Yongnian, 'Perforated Sovereignty: Provincial Dynamism and China's Foreign Trade', Pacific Review, vol. 7, no. 3, 1994, pp. 309-321.
11. See Chadwick F. Alger, 'The World Relations of Cities: Closing the Gap between Social Science Paradigms and Everyday Human Experience', International Studies Quarterly, vol. 34, no. 4, 1990, pp. 493-518;
12. Chadwick F. Alger, 'Expanding Governmental Diversity in Global Governance: Parliamentarians of States and Local Governments', Global Governance, vol. 16, no. 1, 2010, pp. 59-79.
13. Heidi H. Hobbs, City Hall Goes Abroad: The Foreign Policy of Local Politics (Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan, 1994);
14. Jan Melissen and Rogier van der Pluijm, 'City Diplomacy: The Expanding Role of Cities in International Politics', Clingendael Paper (The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael', April 2007);
15. Mark Amen, Noah J. Toly, Patricia L. McCarney and Klaus Segbers (eds), Cities and Global Governance (Farnham: Ashgate, 2011).
16. Stuart Murray, 'The Two Halves of Sports Diplomacy', Diplomacy & Statecraft, vol. 23, no. 3, 2012, pp. 576-592.
17. H.E. Chehab, 'Sport Diplomacy between the United States and Iran', Diplomacy & Statecraft, vol. 12, no.1, 2001, pp. 89-106;
18. Udo Merkel, 'The Politics of Sport Diplomacy and Reunification in Divided Korea', International Review for the Sociology of Sport, vol. 43, no. 3, 2008, pp. 289-311.
19. Stuart Murray and Geoffrey Pigman, 'Uneven Pitch or Level Playing Field? Exploring Theoretical and Topographical Questions Where Sport and Diplomacy Meet', paper presented at the International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Diego, 1-4 April 2012.
20. See Barry Houlian, 'Politics and Sport', in Jay Coakley and Eric Dunning (eds), Handbook of Sport Studies (London: Sage, 2000), pp. 213-227.
21. John Sugden and Alan Tomlinson (eds), Watching the Olympics: Politics, Power and Representation (London: Routledge, 2011).
22. Sifiso M. Ndlovu, 'Sports as Cultural Diplomacy: The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa's Foreign Policy', Soccer & Society, vol. 11, no. 1-2, 2010, pp. 144-153.
23. Robert Redeker, 'Sport as an Opiate of International Relations', Sport in Society, vol. 11, no. 4, 2008, p. 500.
24. Stuart Murray, 'Consolidating the Gains Made in Diplomacy Studies: A Taxonomy', International Studies Perspectives, vol. 9, no. 1, 2008, pp. 22-39.
25. See, for instance, the case of Manchester United in Simon Rofe, 'Football and Soccer: Two Nations Separated by a Common Language Transatlantic Diplomacy: A Case Study of Manchester United', paper presented at the annual meeting of the BISA-ISA joint international conference 'Diversity in the Discipline: Tension or Opportunity in Responding to Global Challenges', 14 May 2012.
26. Aaron Beacon, International Diplomacy and the Olympic Movement (Houndmills: Palgrave, 2012).
27. See, for instance, Brian Chalkley and Stephen Essex, 'Urban Development through Hosting International Events: A History of the Olympic Games', Planning Perspectives, vol. 14, no. 4, 1999, pp. 369-394.
28. John Rennie-Short, 'Mega-Events: Urban Spectaculars and Globalization', in Ben Derudder, Michael Hoyler, Peter J. Taylor and Frank Witlox (eds), International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities (London: Edward Elgar, 2012), p. 188.
29. It is important to note here that while the focus of the narrative in this article is centred on the Olympics, there has been some substantial work done on the impact of other (and often more contained) sporting events
30. such as, for instance, the FA Cup in Andrea Collins, Andrew Flynn, Max Munday and Annette Roberts, 'Assessing the Environmental Consequences of Major Sporting Events: The 2003/04 FA Cup Final', Urban Studies, vol. 44, no. 3, 2007, pp. 457-476. (Pubitemid 46680809)
31. See footnote 19 above for Beacon, International Diplomacy and the Olympic Movement.
32. John Hoberman, 'The Olympics', Foreign Policy, no. 167, July/August 2008, pp. 22-28.
33. Brian Hocking, 'Catalytic Diplomacy: Beyond "Newness" and "Decline" ', in Jan Melissen (ed.), Innovation in Diplomatic Practice (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1999), pp. 21-42.
34. Allan Cochrane, Jamie Peck and Adam Tickell, 'Manchester Plays Games: Exploring the Local Politics of Globalization', Urban Studies, vol. 33, no. 8, 1996, pp. 1319-1336. (Pubitemid 126614347)
35. London's Olympic Spirit', The Economist, 20 May 2004, available online at http://www.economist .com/node/2686898.
36. The London Olympics Bill, House of Commons Research Paper 05/55, 14 July 2005, p. 13, available online at http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/ research/rp2005/rp05-055.pdf.
37. Lynn Zinser, 'Olympic Committee Chooses London for 2012 Summer Games', New York Times, 6 July 2005, available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/ 06/sports/othersports/06cndolympic. html?-r=2&pagewanted=all.
38. The London Olympics Bill, House of Commons Research Paper 05/55.
39. Mayor Defiant Over Olympic Row', BBC News Online, 22 March 2006, available online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk-news/england/london/4833460. stm.
40. Donald McNeill, 'Livingstone's London: Left Politics and the World City', Regional Studies, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 75-80, at p. 79.
41. Doreen Massey, World City (London: Polity, 2007), p. 1.
42. Massey, World City, p. 4.
43. Peter Newman, ' "Back the Bid": The 2012 Summer Olympics and the Governance of London', Journal of Urban Affairs, vol. 29, no. 3, 2007, pp. 255-267, at p. 256. (Pubitemid 47161874)
44. For a thorough analysis of this 'welcoming' message and the inner politics of the construction of those subjects to be 'welcomed' at London 2012.
45. see Dan Bulley and Debbie Lisle, 'Welcoming the World: Governing Hospitality in London's 2012 Olympic Bid', International Political Sociology, vol. 6, no. 1, 2012, pp. 186-204.
46. London 2012 to be the Greenest Ever', BBC News Online, 23 January 2007, available online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6289357.stm.
47. See, for instance, the foreword to the 2008 consolidated version of the Plan: Mayor of London, The London Plan: Consolidated with Alterations since 2004 (London: Greater London Authority, Feb-ruary 2008), p. 11.
48. Harriet Bulkeley and Heike Schroeder, 'Global Cities and the Governance of Climate Change: What Is the Role of Law in Cities?', Fordham Urban Law Journal, vol. 26, no. 2, 2009, p. 335.
49. A more in-depth analysis of these governance dynamics is provided in Acuto, Global Cities, Governance and Diplomacy, pp. 99-120.
50. Christopher Clarey, 'London's Games, an Island between Beijing and Rio', The New York Times, 7 May 2012.
51. Clarey, 'London's Games, an Island between Beijing and Rio'.
52. Peter Newman, ' "Back the Bid", p. 257.
53. As reported by Keval Sharma in Top News Sport, 24 April 2008, available online at http://www .topnews.in/sports/london-mayor-admits-conning-uk-govt- olympic-bid-21185.
54. Mark Kinver, 'London 2012: UN Head Backs 2012 Green Efforts', BBC News, 27 April 2012, available online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science- environment-17867309.
55. Available online at http://www.london2012.com/about-us/sustainability/.
56. The Olympics have long been on a collision course between sustainability and hyper-commercialism.
57. In a way, it's green versus green, the green ideas of environmentalism versus the greenbacks of corporate capitalism.
58. Right now, Olympics bigwigs are leaning towards greenbacks, placing us on a path toward greenwashing rather than real-deal sustainability';
59. Jules Boykoff, 'Has London 2012 been Greenwashed?', The Guardian, 22 April 2012, available online at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/ apr/22/has-london-2012-been-greenwashed.
60. Richard Langhorne, 'Who Are the Diplomats Now?', Diplomacy & Statecraft, vol. 8, no. 2, 1997, p. 13.
61. Murray, 'Consolidating the Gains Made in Diplomacy Studies', pp. 32-34.