Sports diplomacy, American style
The US uses it to help repair troubled relationships with other countries and to introduce American culture to the world.
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THE US often uses sport as an instrument to normalise its diplomatic relationships. Within hours of the US and Cuba restoring relations in March this year, the US employed Baseball Diplomacy, signalling their shared passion. Yet, one of the most effective uses of sport in foreign affairs was the Ping-Pong Diplomacy with China in the 1970s.
While the State Department is currently employing sports diplomacy to repair its troubled relationship with Brazil, the sporting initiatives with Cuba and China were privately conducted by American citizens.
The Sports Diplomacy Division of the State Department is conducting a series of sporting initiatives in global trouble-spots. Sports diplomacy has worked best in countries under authoritarian rule - China and Cuba - where normal diplomatic channels were not available.
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