Re-aligning Power Relations: Beijing 2008 and Olympic Diplomacy

Abstract

The decision taken by the IOC in Moscow in July 2001 to award the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Beijing, had been associated from the onset by the international community, with the idea of ‘emerging markets’ and the development of business opportunities. While such perceptions were indeed reflected in the terms of reference for early diplomatic engagement, the wider political significance of China hosting the Olympic Games in an increasingly unstable multi-polar world order, was not lost on a number of commentators (Price and Dayan 2008, Xin Xu 2006). Against this backdrop, the re-emergence of the debate concerning the role of the diplomatic boycott as a means of pursuing political objectives was one noteworthy consideration. The chapter considers how states and non-state actors attempted to pursue their interests through diplomatic engagement with Chinese society (political and civil) and the challenges faced in that process. It assesses the opportunities and limitations for using the Games as a conduit to engage diplomatically with issues of human rights and development policy and attempts by ‘new’ actors to influence the process. It considers the somewhat limited attempts by the IOC under the leadership of Jacques Rogge, to contribute to the diplomatic discourse in the lead-up to the Beijing games – in particular to provide impetus for the enhancement of human rights in China’s sphere of influence. Finally the concluding section links the investigation of the Beijing Olympics back to wider considerations of continuity and change in diplomatic discourse.