More Than a Game: Sports and Politics Contributions in Political Science

Vinokur contends that sport has become an increasingly pervasive and visible central element in Western culture and that its function as a political tool is likely to grow still more in the 1990s, as governments realize the full value of sports to the political socialization process. He shows how the German Democratic Republic and Romania in particular have used sports to help achieve their political goals.

This national emphasis on sports is then contrasted to the Western governments' approach. Finally, Vinokur focuses on the 1980 and 1984 Olympic boycotts and the 1988 summer games in Seoul.