Geopolitics

On March 21st, we organised a conference entitled “Law and power. Rules and norms at the heart of influence”. This is the first event in our cycle of meetings “At the heart of influences”. The speakers at the conference were: Frédéric MUNIER, Director of the School of Geopolitics at SKEMA Business School, Noëlle LENOIR, lawyer and former minister of European Affairs, and Claude REVEL, Director of Development at SKEMA PUBLIKA, former interministerial delegate for economic intelligence. The debate was moderated by Stéphane MARCHAND, editor in chief of Pour l'Éco.

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?

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.

by Simon Chadwick | The report examines the background to Qatar’s hosting of the men’s World Cup, the country’s preparedness to host the tournament, the event’s management, and the legacies. To conclude, the report highlights areas in which there could be issues for Qatari and FIFA World Cup organisers to contend with, at perhaps one of the biggest, but certainly one of the most controversial, sport mega-events ever staged.

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 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.

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.

The devastating conflict raging in Ukraine since 24 February has turned into an all-out war in this country and is prompting an unexpected and risky geopolitical reshuffle of the European continent. This is because the agenda and interests of the European Union are perhaps not shared by NATO and the United States. Maintaining a strong stance against Moscow is necessary, but with the aim of negotiating to establish a lasting peace guaranteeing the stability of Europe.