Syllabus
DAY 1: INTRODUCTION AND TYPES OF MEGA-EVENTS
Introduction and organizational aspects
What is a mega-event and what is political about them
Readings:
Müller, M. (2015). What makes an event a mega-event? Definitions and sizes. Leisure studies, 34(6), 627-642.
DAY 2: MEGA-EVENTS: STRATEGIC USE AND MISUSE
Mega-Events as Legitimizing tools: the case of the 1936 Berlin Olympic games
Mega-Events and soft power projection
Readings:
Large, D. C. (2012). Nazi Games. The Olympics of 1936. NY: WW Norton & Company. Chapters 2, 3 (p. 49-109).
Grix, J., & Lee, D. (2013). Soft power, sports mega-events and emerging states: The lure of the politics of attraction. Global society, 27(4), 521-536.
If you don’t know the Soft Power classic: Nye, J. S. (1990). Soft power. Foreign policy, (80), 153-171.
DAY 3: EFFECTS OF MEGA-EVENTS
An overview of effects on the economy, trade, image, society, and nationalism
Readings:
Scharpf, A., Gläßel, C., & Edwards, P. (2022). International Sports Events and Repression in Autocracies: Evidence from the 1978 FIFA World Cup. American Political Science Review, online first.
Bertoli, A. D. (2017). Nationalism and conflict: Lessons from international sports. International Studies Quarterly, 61(4), 835-849.
Annotation
This course is taught by David Knoll, visiting lecturer from the Department of Politics and Public Administration; University of Konstanz, Germany.
Large societal events from sports and culture affect millions of citizens at the same time and develop effects far beyond the borders of the hosting nations. Despite their broad appeal, “mega-events” like World Cups, Olympic Games, or European Capitals of Culture have only started to attract attention from political scientists and scholars of International Relations. Because of their scope and their potential for strategic use (and misuse) on the national and international stage, it is important to understand the politics and international repercussions of these events.
To this end, the present three-day block course is structured as follows: First, we take a closer look at the different types of events and their specific features. During day two, we consider how elites use mega-events strategically. Among other things, mega-events can serve as instruments of soft power projection, tools to generate legitimacy among the population as well as among other states, or present venues for protest on a national and international scale. On the last day, we focus on the international repercussions and socio-economic effects of mega-events. In doing so, we will not only cover empirical evidence from political science, but also take a look at the diverse work from neighbouring disciplines.