Olympism and nationalism: Some preliminary considerations

The link between Olympism and nationalism is an enduring and significant political phenomenon which is likely to continue to exert pertinent political effects, both on international relations and on the internal politics of participant states, in particular, the politics of the host country to the Olympic Games. We need to regard Olympism and nationalism as socio-political constructions with a specific character and dynamics of their own if we are to develop an appropriate model of their relationship. The Barcelona Olympics presents an opportunity for developing a better model: an explanation of how the relationship is constructed in this particular instance would be a major contribution, not only to comparative research in this field, but also to the wider field of political sociology. I It is a pity that Political Sociologists have not taken much of an interest in the relationship between Olympism and nationalism. While the connection is widely acknowledged in public discussion and in a growing volume of literature, our theoretical understanding of the precise way they are articulated needs to b