بررسی چگونگی تعامل ورزش– سیاست خارجی بر پایه «نظریه میدان» پی‌یر بوردیو

ورزش مدرن، نقش و جایگاه مهمی در جهان معاصر دارد. ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌با وجود گزاره مفروض «جدایی ورزش از سیاست»، باید اذعان کرد که رابطه دوسو‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌یه استواری میان ورزش و سیاست در حوزه داخلی و عرصه خارجی برقرار است. پژوهش‌‌های زیادی درباره تاثیر متقابل ورزش و سیاست انجام شده و نظریه‌‌پردازان اجتماعی در قالب نظریه‌‌های «جامعه‌‌‌‌شناسی ورزشی» به این مقوله پرداخته‌اند. با این حال، در نظریه‌‌های روابط ‌بین‌الملل در مورد رابطه «ورزش سیاست خارجی» به لحاظ نظری کار پژوهشی چندانی انجام نشده است. از آنجایی که برای درک بهتر چرایی اهمیت ورزش در سیاست خارجی کشورها، وجود بستر نظری و چارچوب مفهومی لازم است، با طراحی یک مدل مفهومی با الهام از «نظر‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌یه میدان» بوردیو، می‌توان به توصیف و تبیین تعامل میان ورزش و سیاست خارجی مبادرت ورزید. پرسش‌های اصلی پژوهش عبارت‌اند از: 1. ماهیت رابطه بین ورزش و سیاست خارجی چیست؟ 2. میزان تاثیرگذاری ورزش بر روابط دیپلماتیک، و پیشبرد صلح در نظام بین‌الملل چیست؟ در فرضیه پژوهشی استدلال می‌شود که ورزش بین‌الملل به‌عنوان ابزاری موثر در سیاست خارجی با ایجاد فرصت برای دیپلماسی عمومی و افزایش قدرت نرم کشورها، به انعطاف‌پذیری و پیشبرد صلح در روابط دیپلماتیک کمک می‌کند. با رویکردی کیفی و استفاده از روش تحلیل مقایسه‌ای دیدگاه‌های علمی و شواهد موجود در منابع مکتوب، و تاکید بر دو عنصر نظریه پی‌یر بوردیو یعنی «میدان و سرمایه» و تعمیم آن به عرصه جامعه ‌بین‌الملل و کاربست مولفه‌‌های «قدرت نرم» و «دیپلماسی ورزشی»، رابطه ورزش با سیاست خارجی و چگونگی بهره‌گیری کشورها از میدان بین‌المللی ورزش در راستای اهداف سیاست خارجی تبیین می‌شود.

studying the relationship between sport and foreign policy on the basis of pierre bourdieu’s field theory

modern sport has a significant role and position in current international system, and can be considered a multifaceted phenomenon with political, economic, cultural and geopolitical aspects and clear consequences for domestic and foreign policy of most states. in spite of the claim made by international  sport organizations about the separation of  sport and politics and the lack of political manipulation of sport events, one should acknowledge the substantial impact of internalexternal politics on sport. accordingly, modern sport has gradually played a significant role in all sorts of interactions among states. in fact, sport has become an international and global phenomenon which can be a large part of foreign policy agenda of most states. there has been a large number of studies, primarily conducted by sociologists regarding the nature and extent of relationship between sport and politics. in fact, there is a specific subdiscipline called sociology of sport, which aims at studying the social aspects of sport. however, a review of literature covering books and articles written by scholars concerning theories of international relations in the academia reveal that scant attention has been paid to the linkage between sport and foreign policy. in general, there has been a degree of inattention and neglect of the political aspect of the phenomenon of sport in the theories of international relations. since a theoretical and conceptual framework is needed to better understand the importance of the role of sport in foreign policy, the authors design a conceptual model inspired by bourdieu’s field theory in their quest to describe and explain the nature of foreign policysport linkage. the main research questions are: 1. what is the nature of the relationship between sport and foreign policy? 2. to what extent can sport influence diplomatic relations, and the advancement of peace in the international system? in the research hypothesis, it is  postulated that international sport, as an effective instrument of foreign policy, contributes to goodwill and the advancement of peace in international system by creating opportunities for public diplomacy and shaping soft power of countries. for hypothesistesting, the authors adopt a qualitative approach, and focus on sports as a political phenomenon. based on a careful analysis of available evidence and written material, and the use of the two elements of field and capital in bourdieu’s theory, they explain how various governments may use sport diplomacy and soft power to achieve their foreign policy goals. the main conclusion of the research show that international sport has been used by states to fulfil their foreign policy objectives. the more successful countries are the ones which have endeavored to invest more in national capacitybuilding in order to become more competitive in international sports events, instead of stressing the use of force and coercion in their interactions with other international actors. they have reaped the benefit of increasing ‘capital’ (in the form of prestige, dignity, acceptability, attractiveness, influence and economic benefits), and then using the ‘capital’ to attain their goals and secure their national interests in an increasingly competitive international arena. no country should ignore the issue of sport, particularly international sport as a useful source of soft power. furthermore, international relations scholar should be more attentive to the role of international sport in national foreign policy agenda settings, and international power politics.