J.O. Politics

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games promise to be the highlight of the year, both in sporting and  international terms. The 33rd edition of the Olympics, which will once again bring together over 200 countries and be watched by more than 3 billion television viewers, is taking place in a particulargeopolitical context, marked by the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the re-emergence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This convergence between sport and geopolitics is nothing new for the Olympic Games. Since 1896, they have served as a mirror reflecting the world situation, whether accompanying the resurgence of Greece in 1896 to ease nationalist tensions, serving as a tribune for Hitler's Germany in 1936, or illustrating the rivalry between the USA and Russia during the cross-boycott of the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.Beyond these grand narratives, other lesser-known stories emerge. How did a water polo match rekindle tensions between Hungary and Russia? Why did Kenya and Jamaica specialize in sport for political ends? And how the gold medal won by Kosovo at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has an importance far beyond the sporting victory...For this 4th book in the FC Geopolitics series, Kévin Veyssière tells 24 new stories in which sport, in the particular context of the Olympic Games, has found itself at the heart of international relations, from its beginnings in 1896 to the French edition of Paris 2024. Kévin Veyssière, 31, an expert and professor in the geopolitics of sport, is the founder of the Football Club Geopolitics medium, which has over 70,000 subscribers on social networks. He is already the author of two books (Football Club Geopolitics and Mondial) published by Max Milo.