政治, 権力とスポーツ : 「スポーツと政治」研究のための一考察

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Although sport has been viewed to be apolitical, many studies have revealed that sport is interwoven with politics. The fact that sport cannot be free from politics means that sport can be a subject of the discipline of politics. The studies that have been conducted on the relationship between sport and politics, however, have developed as a sub-discipline of sport sociology. Since Aristotle's time, political analysis has dealt with power, rule, and authority. We may define politics as a practice to achieve social order, and can describe power as the most important tool to achieve it. According to Lukes, there are three views of power: that is, the view of the pluralists (the one-dimensional view); the view of their critics, i.e., the neo-elitists (the two-dimensional view); and the third view of power (the three-dimensional view). Both the one-dimensional and the two-dimensional view focus on actual and observable conflict, either overt or covert. But the supreme exercise of power is to secure the compliance of others by controlling their thoughts and desires. The three-dimensional view stresses this aspect of power. Late in December of 1979, the Soviet Union invaded and took control of Afghanistan. U.S. President Jimmy Carter accused Moscow of aggressive action and called for boycotting the Moscow Olympics as a punishment against the Soviet Union. The IOC opposed the boycott and the USOC insisted that politics should not interfere with sport. But the U.S. government suggested and pressured the USOC not to support them financially. Furthermore, the idea that loyalty to the nation and commitment to American democracy should be shown by boycotting the games became prevalent. There was no choice for the USOC but to boycott the Olympics. By this process, it became obvious that so-called three-dimensional power was exercised to establish an agreement with a nation to boycott the games. In this study, I give an overview of the concept of power and attempt to apply the concept to analyze the relation-ship between sport and politics. In order to make this discussion on the relationship more fruitful, it is necessary to bear in mind the analytical framework and the philosophical basis of political science discussions.