The Role of Olympism in International Relations

The thesis investigates the position of Olympism in international relations. The introductory chapters deal with institutional structure of the Olympic Movement, which is headed by the International Olympic Committee. The following chapters examine Olympism in connection with selected political issues. These are political interests of states and other subjects, conflicts and cooperation among states. The question of boycotts is addressed in a separate chapter. The aim of the thesis is to evaluate the role of Olympism in international relations in a comprehensive manner. The thesis uses several historical examples that show how the Olympic Movement coped with given political challenges. From the mentioned examples and the evaluation of development, the most important factors for Olympism are finally deduced, i.e. commercialization, mediatization and politicization.