The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Olympic Games

This chapter considers the politics of the Olympic Games. The international sporting system, within which the Olympics reside, had emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a force of peace and goodwill. It also grew in strength and global popularity because it was built to accommodate national rivalries. That the Olympics quickly emerged as a powerful medium to promote the state and political ideology naturally lent the festival to the propaganda battles of the Cold War. Here was a stage where deeds could be trumpeted and manipulated for psychological significance. Without a doubt, the games provided a global arena for athletes from the east and west to compete head to head in a symbolic war.