By Simon Chadwick | Global sport is changing. Organised around the Global North since it originated, international sport governance is increasingly influenced by countries of the Global South. Europe, once at its centre, saw its hegemonic position challenged first by North American hyper-commercialisation of sports, and now today, by the strength of the Global South’s geopolitical aspirations. How can European sport overcome these challenges?
The governance landscape has changed in recent years, due in particular to the influence of new corporate social responsibility (CSR) standards that have emerged. These two concepts, governance and CSR, now appear to be inextricably linked and are part of a new reality in business management.
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Simon Chadwick, professor of Sport and Geopolitical Economy at SKEMA Business School, discusses the reasons why the hosting of global sport events is a question of geopolitical survival for Qatar. He also delves into the preparedness of the country to welcome the estimated 1.5 million visitors and the security threats that could arise during the tournament. Finally, he examines the long-term possible impacts for the Qatari population, notably in terms of national identity building and social cohesion.
International relations: does economics contribute to peace? With international tensions running high, Claude Revel argues in her Preface for “La Revue Diplomatique” that this is by no means a given. She calls for a return to politics and diplomacy to create a more peaceful world.
by David Fayon | The metaverse has been getting a lot of press coverage since the Facebook company changed its name to Meta a year ago. While nascent solutions were already available, such as Second Life, a 3D virtual world launched in 2005 when the term Web 2.0 appeared, virtual reality headsets, NFTs, blockchain technology, and faster internet speeds have reignited interest in the metaverse. But between fantasies, a new eldorado for brands and reality, what is the truth of the meta?
by Simon Chadwick | Football for the Russian government and its allies is merely the means to geopolitical ends, rather than an end in itself. Scoring goals is only of secondary importance to the power and influence that investing football can bring.
Claude Revel, Director of SKEMA PUBLIKA and Rodolphe Desbordes, Professor of Economics at SKEMA Business School discuss the use of Big Data by public authorities. How can Big Data help design public policies for the common good? How can we develop an international data ethics? What measures should implement to avoid falling into a surveillance society?
With inflation close to 10% and growth slowing, the British economy is dangerously close to recession. But the recent health crisis and Russia's invasion of Ukraine are only multipliers of economic damages already produced by Brexit. The lack of coherence in the policy mix implemented by Liz Truss' government and the lack of credibility of the stimulus plan are sending negative signals the markets. How can the UK government respond to record inflation, slowing growth, low business investment and the depreciation of the pound?
Indonesia is due to host next year’s FIFA men’s Under-23 World Cup and is in the running to host the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. Losing the right to stage one tournament and failing to gain the right to host another would damage its reputation.
The last 30 years have been characterised by unprecedented changes, amongst them globalisation and digitalisation. In sports, this means that international competitions are increasingly held in countries that hitherto haven’t played hosts, which brings unfamiliar values, norms, and conventions to their staging. In these circumstances, seemingly innocent symbols and signs can become ideologically, politically and socio-culturally charged, challenging many of us either to confront what offends us or to modify our views of what we think is acceptable.