Deterrent Role of Sport in Military War (Case Study: Netnography of Russia-Ukraine Conflict)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Assistance Professor, Sport Sciences Department, Technical and Vocational University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor of Communication, Lehman College, New York, USA

3 Faculty Member, Sport Sciences Department, Technical and Vocational University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The outbreak of war in Ukraine at the same time as the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics once again called the world sports to engage in international military warfare. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of sports deterrent in the prevention of international military wars. The present study was a qualitative-netnogeraphy method, which was conducted by studying various websites and social networks such as Instagram and official websites of BBC sport, CNN sport, ABC sport, Varzesh TV, Olympics and FIFA World Cup pages. The results indicated that sport sanctions of Russia categorized to personal (8) and organizational (21) concepts. Although Sports is a non-political phenomenon, it can play as a peace-making factor to decrease the political and military pressure on nations. Today, athletes, because of their billion audience on social media and messengers, have an irreplaceable impact on the public, including efforts to curb violence, aggression and incitement to war, including effective sports in promoting international peace.

Keywords


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