Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
Sport in Society

For a Special Issue on
Sport and Politics in Asia Pacific: Asia Pacific Sport and Social Science

Sport and politics, despite the axiom that the two should not mix, often maintain an intimate connection. Both democratic and authoritarian regimes exploit sport as a way not only to gain legitimacy and popularity within the country but also to manage their relationship with other nations and transnational actors. International sport governing bodies are frequently entangled with various political issues, and this political entanglement subsequently affects the organisation of a major sporting event of which they are in charge. Athletes are by no means immune to political affairs. They, as an individual or as a team, routinely take part in various political activism both inside and outside the stadium, and their opportunity to participate in major international competitions is at times determined by the geopolitical circumstances within which they are situated. The politicisation of sport becomes more manifest since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent diplomatic and military tensions in different parts of the world from Eastern Europe to East Asia have further complicated this unholy relationship between sport and politics.

Sport in the Asia Pacific region is also the domain where one can easily observe this (post) pandemic world order in turmoil. For instance, the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo originally intended to be an occasion through which the Japanese government revitalises it economy although this dramatic culmination of so-called Abenomics was not materialised due to the circulation of coronavirus and the subsequent postponement of the Games. The 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing presented a symbolic battleground between China trying to revise the power balance in Asia Pacific and the US attempting to preserve its hegemony in the region. Various human rights groups and environmental activists also protested against these major sporting events held in East Asia in the past few years. The Australian Open was not free from political controversy either. Before the 2022 competition, Novak Djokovic was denied entering Australia and subsequently deported from the tennis championship because of his vaccine status. In 2023, the display of the flags representing pro-Russian aggression by some fans on the tennis court triggered a debate on sport and political symbols. The very first Olympic e-sport week will take place in Singapore later this year, and this may indicate the city state’s ambition to show its technological soft power when political geometry in Asia Pacific is being recalibrated in a (post) pandemic world.

At this unique historical juncture, Professor Tien-Chin Tan and Dr Jung Woo Lee invite papers with a focus on the interface between sport and politics in the Asia Pacific countries. The Asia Pacific Sport and Social Science special issue of Sport in Society (APSS of SiS) intends to publish original research articles which examine a range of social, political and ethical issues concerning the use of political power in sport. A conceptual paper with a clear and comprehensive theoretical and/or philosophical orientation is also welcome.

The topics in this special issue include but not limited to the following:

- the sport and gender politics in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and green politics in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and human rights in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and nationalism/national identity in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and political ideology in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and Olympic movement in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and policy in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and globalisation in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and political activism in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and international relation/diplomacy in Asia-Pacific

- the sport and political corruption/match-fixing in Asia-Pacific

- the role of Asia Pacific countries in sport development and peace

Please send any questions to Jung Woo Lee at [email protected] or Tien-Chin TAN at [email protected].

Manuscript Submissions

Manuscripts for the special section should be submitted before the 15th of May 2023 at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fcss to facilitate full consideration. In the submission process, authors should highlight in their cover letter that the submission is for the “Asia Pacific Sport and Social Science” special issue of Sport in Society and choose “Special Issue Paper” as the “Manuscript Type.” All manuscripts will be subject to peer review under the supervision of the Special Issue Editors.

Instructions for AuthorsSubmit an Article