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Olympic citizenship and the (un)specialness of the national vest: rethinking the links between sport and citizenship law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2014

Dora Kostakopoulou  and
Annette Schrauwen
Dora Kostakopoulou*
Affiliation:
School of Law, University of Warwick. Email: Kostakopoulou@warwick.ac.uk
Annette Schrauwen
Affiliation:
Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance, University of Amsterdam. Email: a.a.m.schrauwen@uva.nl.
*
Kostakopoulou@warwick.ac.uk
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Abstract

The increasing mobility of athletes prompts a reconsideration of the presumed connection between allegiance, identity and nationality. Olympic citizenship challenges traditional understandings of community membership by calling into question the privileged status of birthright citizenship and by bringing forth a different, more fluid and changeable notion of belonging. By juxtaposing the ‘old’ world of nations competing via ‘their’ athletes, as momentary representatives of the nation, for glory, medals, dominance and prestige, to the increasing mobility of sportspersons engaging in the pursuit of athletic excellence and creative self-expression, we argue that neither the enactment of tighter rules to prevent ‘citizenship shopping’ nor the transformation of the Olympic Games into athletes' Olympics are desirable reforms. Instead, we propose a participatory growth model which would allow athletes to choose the country they intend to represent following their enmeshment into a localised web of socio-economic interactions and a flexible framework of citizenship. This cannot but have wider implications for the Olympic Charter and for politics in general.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 143 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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