The Five Rings and the "Imagined Community": Nationalism and the Modern Olympic Games

This paper distills the many forms or expressions of nationalism associated with the Olympic Games into four historical themes: the Olympic athlete, or team, as a tangible representation of the nation incarnate; the symbolic value of victories and medals; the diplomatic significance of recognition i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The SAIS review of international affairs 2015-06, Vol.35 (2), p.21-32
Main Authors: Rider, Toby C., Llewellyn, Matthew P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:This paper distills the many forms or expressions of nationalism associated with the Olympic Games into four historical themes: the Olympic athlete, or team, as a tangible representation of the nation incarnate; the symbolic value of victories and medals; the diplomatic significance of recognition in the International Olympic Committee; and the political currency of hosting an Olympic festival.
ISSN:1945-4716
1945-4724
1945-4724
DOI:10.1353/sais.2015.0026