For Debbie Sharnak, associate professor of history and international studies at Rowan, the tournament offers an opportunity to better understand the concept increasingly shaping conversations around global sports: sportswashing.
Sharnak serves as director of the Hollybush Institute for Global Peace and Security and co-coordinator for Rowan’s Sports, Society and Civic Leadership program.
Her research examines how global history can be understood through the lens of sports and how sporting events can illuminate broader social and political dynamics.
Sharnak sat down with writers to discuss the meaning of sportswashing, its historical roots and why sports continue to shape political conversations around the globe.
Sportswashing refers to the use of sporting events by governments or leaders in power to improve reputation, distract from controversy or downplay human rights abuses.
One of the clearest historical examples is the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina.
Argentina’s military junta seized power in 1976, and the World Cup took place at the height of the dictatorship – where the most people were being killed, arrested, tortured and held as political prisoners.
The dictatorship sees the World Cup as a chance to project to the world the image of a modern, civilized state to show that any accusations of human rights violations are nonsense.
They pay millions of dollars and hire a PR firm to help with that project, which is one of the first time you see this idea of “sportswashing” in use, though we are applying that label back to this time.
It’s using sports to try and clean their image because of the criticism of the regime.
Before the World Cup, international human rights groups also got involved and there was an attempt to boycott the games that ultimately failed.
