Advertisement

Ice Hockey World Championship in Belarus: Political Context

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Mega Event Planning book series (MEGAEP)

Abstract

The chapter claims that promotion of mass and elite sport has a special place in Lukashenka’s domestic policies, which made the 2014 Ice Hockey World Championship in Minsk a politically important event for the regime. The authors show how the Belorussian government uses sports to promote its domestic and international agenda and those aims which the state attains through hosting the World Championship. The chapter discusses different facets of politicization of this event.

Keywords

National Identity Soft Power National Sovereignty National Team Nation Building 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. BBC. 2014. Belarus leader switches to state language from Russian, July 10. http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-28246782. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  2. Bekus, N. 2008. European Belarus versus state ideology: Construction of the nation in the Belarusian political discourses. Polish Sociological Review 163: 263–283.Google Scholar
  3. Belarus. 2014. 2014 IIHF World Championship Minsk. http://www.belarus.by/en/about-belarus/sport/iihf-world-championship-2014. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  4. Belta. 2012. Glavno ne uchastie, a pobeda. Belta, July 10. http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/president/Lukashenko-glavnoe-na-Olimpijskix-igrax-ne-uchastie-a-pobeda_i_602383.html. Accessed 2 Dec 2014.
  5. ———. 2013. Minskie milicionery budut uchit’ angliyskiy yazyk po 8 chasov v nedelyu. Belta, September 16. http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/society/Minskie-militsionery-budut-uchit-anglijskij-po-8-chasov-v-nedelju_i_646475.html. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  6. Black, D., and J. Nauright. 1998. Rugby and the South African nation. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
  7. Black, D., and J. Van der Westhuizen. 2004. The allure of global games for ‘semi-peripheral’ polities and spaces: A research agenda. Third World Quarterly 25(7): 1195–1214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Cronin, M., and D. Mayall (eds.). 1998. Sporting nationalisms: Identity, ethnicity, immigration and assimilation. London and Portland: F. Cass.Google Scholar
  9. European Parliament. 2012. European Parliament resolution on the situation in Belarus (2012/2581(RSP)). http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=P7-RC-2012-0178&language=EN. Accessed 30 Dec 2014.
  10. Freedom House. 2012. Open letter to International Ice Hockey Federation President René Fasel. https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/Open%20Letter%20to%20International%20Ice%20Hockey%20Federation%20President%20Rene%20Fasel--.pdf. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  11. Grix, J. and B. Houlihan. 2014. Sports mega-events as part of a nation’s soft power strategy: The Cases of Germany (2006) and the UK (2012). The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 16(4): 572–596.Google Scholar
  12. Gudzilin, S. 2014. Hakey skonchyŭcya: specnaz zachysciŭ Zonu hascinnasci lya Palaca sportu a 3.32 ranicy FOTY Syarheya Gudzilina. Nasha Niva, May 26. http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=128989. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  13. Kanashic, S. 2014a. Speshite bolet’! Sovetskaya Belorussiya, May 14.Google Scholar
  14. ——— 2014b. Startoval chempionat mira po hokkeyu. Sovetskaya Belorussiya, May 10.Google Scholar
  15. Komashko, D. 2014. Aleksey Kalyuzhnyi: takie podeby obyedinyayut naciyu. Sovetskaya Belorussiya, May 12. http://www.sb.by/chempionat-mira-po-khokkeyu-v-minske-2014/article/aleksey-kalyuzhnyy-takie-pobedy-obedinyayut-natsiyu.html. Accessed 15 Dec 2014.
  16. Kopachev, P. 2014. Interview with Vitali Scherbo. Sports.ru, November 14. http://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/russiateam/700403.html. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  17. Leshchenko, N. 2011. Belarusian President attempts a divisive national ideology. Belarus Digest, May 14. http://belarusdigest.com/2011/04/28/belarusian-president-attempts-a-divisive-national-ideology. Accessed 21 Dec 2014.
  18. Lin, Ch-Y, P-Ch Lee, and H.-F. Nai. 2008. Theorizing the role of sports in state-politics. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Science 1(1): 23–32.Google Scholar
  19. Lukashuk, Z. 2014. Ci skarystalasya apazicyja Chempijanatam, kab raskazac’ pra palitvjaznjau.   Euroradio,   May   19.   http://euroradio.fm/ci-skarystalasya-apazicyya-chempiyanatam-kab-raskazac-pra-palitvyaznyau. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  20. Lunyova, L. 2014. Kamu – svyata i hul’nya, a kamu – nary i psihushka…. Narodnaya Volya, May 6.Google Scholar
  21. Mel’nichuk, T. 2013. Lukashenko hochet zastrahovat’ hokkeynyi ChM-2014. BBC, September 18. http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/international/2013/09/130918_lukashenko_hockey. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  22. Melissen, J. (ed.). 2005. The new public diplomacy. Soft power in international relations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
  23. Merkel, U. 2009. Sport, politics and reunification – a comparative analysis of Korea and Germany. The International Journal of the History of Sport 26(3): 406–428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Ministry of Sport and Tourism. 2014. Sport in Belarus. http://www.mst.by/en/sports-belarus. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  25. Nasha Niva. 2014a. Nasha Niva 19 (856), May 21. http://kamunikat.org/nn.html?pub_start=20&pubid=27946. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  26. ———. 2014b. Niyakaha Ruskaha marshu ŭ Minsku ne budze. Nasha Niva, May 6. http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=127851. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  27. ———. 2014c. Yunaka zatrymali ŭ fan-zone “Minsk-arèny” za bel-chyrvona-bely scyah. Nasha Niva, May 24. http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=128930. Accessed 25 March 2015.
  28. NISEPI. 2014a. Aktual’nye trendy, IISEPS. http://iiseps.org/trends/11. Accessed 2 Dec 2014.
  29. ———. 2014b. Geopoliticheskoe zatish’e. http://www.iiseps.org/analitica/543. Accessed 2 Dec 2014.
  30. Nye, J. 2008. Public diplomacy and soft power. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 616: 94–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Pankavec, Z. 2014a. Chto pozitivnogo prinyos v Minsk ChM po hokkeyu. Nasha Niva, May 6. http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=127852&lang=ru. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  32. ——— 2014b. Taki hakey nam ne treba: lik aryshtavanyh na chas chempiyanatu svetu payshoŭ na dzyasyatki. Nasha Niva, May 10. http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=127924. Accessed 2 Dec 2014.
  33. Pasiyak, O. 2014. Minsk ne budet prezhnim. Sovetskaya Belorussiya, May 26. http://www.sb.by/blog/Array-olga-pasiyak/minsk-ne-budet-prezhnim.html. Accessed 15 Dec 2014.
  34. Polezhay, T. 2014. Lukashenko garantiruet provedenie v Minske luchshego v istorii chempionata mira po hokkeyu. Belta, March 17. http://www.belta.by/ru/all_news/president/Lukashenko-garantiruet-provedenie-v-Minske-luchshego-v-istorii-chempionata-mira-po-xokkeju_i_663008.html. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  35. Polyakova, A. 2014. Ukrainian long division. Foreign Affairs, April 20. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141311/alina-polyakova/ukrainian-long-division. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  36. Preiherman, Y. 2014. Ice Hockey World Cup in Minsk: The party is over. Belarus Digest, May 28. http://belarusdigest.com/story/ice-hockey-world-cup-minsk-party-over-18025. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  37. Prupas, A., Pasiyak, O., and M. Zubovich. 2014. Turistam rady. Sovetskaya Belorussiya, April 5, 2014.Google Scholar
  38. Ruzhechka, A., and A. Kostyukevich. 2014. V Minske nachali rabotu volontyory chempionata mira po hokkeyu. Sovetskaya Belorussiya, May 7, 2014.Google Scholar
  39. Shraiban, A. 2014. Recent IISEPS polls: Belarusian society slowly matures. Belarus Digest, January 30. http://belarusdigest.com/story/recent-iiseps-polls-belarusian-society-slowly-matures-16764. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  40. Sinyuk, E. 2014. “Priyatnogo malo, my syehali ha kvartiru.” Studenty chetyryoh vuzov vynuzhdenno vyselyayutsya iz obshchezhitii iz-za ChM po hokkeyu. TUT.BY, April 1. http://news.tut.by/society/393231.html. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.
  41. Sport Express. 2014. Lukashenko schitaet, chto sbornaia Belorusi opozorilas’, krupno proigrav ispancam. Sport Express. www.sport-express.ru/football/world/news/531470. Accessed 2 Oct 2015.
  42. Sugden, J., and A. Bairner (eds.). 1999. Sport in divided society. Oxford: Meyer & Meyer Sport.Google Scholar
  43. Svyatlanich, A. 2014. Abdalyavali! Narodnaya Volya, May 27, 8.Google Scholar
  44. Telegraf. 2011. Wikileaks: oficial’naya ideologiya – jeto samoobman. Telegraf.by, June 30. http://telegraf.by/2011/08/wikileaks-oficialnaya-ideologiya-belarusi-eto-samoobman. Accessed 2 Dec 2014.
  45. Van der Merwe, J., and J. Van der Westhuizen. 2006. The branding game: The role of sport in South African foreign policy. Global Insight 67: 1–3.Google Scholar
  46. ———. 2007. The 2003 cricket world cup and its implications for identity formation and democracy in Zimbabwe. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 45(3): 345–366.Google Scholar
  47. Vardamacki, A. 2014. Belarusy lichac’ daluchjenne Kryma spravjadlivym. Nasha Niva, October 15. http://nn.by/?c=ar&i=137110. Accessed 5 Dec 2014.
  48. Verdery, K. 1993. Whither nation and nationalism. Daedalus 122(3): 37–46.Google Scholar
  49. Vyasna. 2014. Kiraŭnika Östgruppen Marcina Uglu ne puscili ŭ Belarus’ napyaredadni ChS-2014 (abnaŭlyaecca). Vyasna, May 16. http://spring96.org/be/news/70913. Accessed 29 Dec 2014.

Copyright information

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Institute of Government and PoliticsUniversity of TartuTartuEstonia
  2. 2.University of TampereTampereFinland

Personalised recommendations

Cite chapter

Buy options