Call for Papers | Diplomacies, Diplomats, and Sports, 19th–21st Century | International Conference, University of Lausanne, September 9–11, 2026. Call ends February 16, 2026

Since the 2000s, a growing number of states have been mobilizing their diplomats on sporting issues and sport for diplomatic purposes, to the extent that the concept of ‘sports diplomacy’ has become established in a prescriptive, if not forward-looking, sense in the international public sphere. Media, governments, supranational organizations, international NGOs, consulting firms, and think tanks invoke it to suggest that sport possesses a unique capacity to transcend differences, foster peace and reconciliation, and advance human rights. Many of these practitioners or experts believe that sport does more to cultivate solidarity among nations than the hierarchies of podiums and of records do to fuel nationalism. The idea that sport could promote international has its roots in ‘Olympism’, theorized in the early twentieth century by the Frenchman Pierre de Coubertin and subsequently promoted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to legitimize the so-called ‘Olympic movement’. It is closely linked to another postulate, also attributed to Coubertin, which posits that sport constitutes a neutral space and that sporting organizations are apolitical actors. However, empirical evidence capable of proving that sport contributes to world peace and human progress remains scarce. Is sports diplomacy, as a transformative force, merely a mantra? Does it exert any influence on public opinion? Is employing sports to improve states’ image truly effective? These are among the numerous questions that this international conference – open to all academic disciplines – aims to address.

Yet, in 1984 – thirteen years after Sino-American ‘ping-pong diplomacy’ – the historian of international relations Pierre Milza cautioned against the notion that sport could play a decisive diplomatic role in interstate relations. Instead, he regarded it as nothing more than an additional channel of communication for diplomats. We will therefore examine the potential role that sports could play in triggering other diplomatic projects. As early as the 1990s, other historians demonstrated that proto-sport diplomacies had emerged before 1914. This was followed, they argued, by a first phase of institutionalization after the First World War. In their eyes, the instrumentalization of sport for imperialist purposes belongs to a centuries-old history. Such use of sport for the purposes of influence and power is particularly evident in the interwar period in the case of totalitarian regimes, and then during the Cold War between the two superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. Therefore, particular attention will be paid to the nature of the political regime under study. The same level of consideration will be given to the wide range of sports diplomacy policies that different governments may adopt.

In 1920, by establishing a ‘Sport and Tourism’ office within the Service des œuvres françaises à l’étranger – the body responsible for France’s cultural diplomacy – the Quai d’Orsay became the first foreign ministry in the world to incorporate sport as a sphere of diplomatic action. For a state presenting itself as the great victor of the European War, the objective was to support the organization of international competitions, facilitate the travel of French athletes abroad, and ensure French representation within international sporting organizations, all for the purpose of enhancing global influence. It may come as a surprise that sport appeared so early among cultural diplomacy instruments in a country such as France, traditionally recognized for its literary and artistic influence. In spite of this historic early origin, French sports diplomacy has experienced ebbs and flows without ever becoming a major priority for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – except in connection with the 2024 Olympic Games, which prompted the creation of a thematic ambassador position in 2013.

Conversely, Switzerland still struggles today to adopt a coherent diplomatic doctrine regarding sport, despite hosting the headquarters of the IOC in Lausanne since 1915, the FIFA headquarters in Zurich since 1937, and dozens of international sports organizations that have flocked to its territory since the 1990s, partly attracted by favorable tax arrangements. The existence of ‘sports diplomacies’ is therefore far from self-evident; it does not take the same forms across countries or historical periods. This conference deliberately refrains from presupposing their existence, effectiveness, or unity. Rather, it seeks to identify their emergence and disappearance across the global landscape of states, to historicize their forms and practices, and to assess their impact by comparing sports diplomacies with other forms of cultural diplomacy and with projects of public or popular diplomacy from the late nineteenth century to the twenty-first century. In doing so, it will also welcome examinations focused on the sporting culture of diplomats themselves, as well as their representations and visions of global sport.

Could sport be nothing more than a new and simple diplomatic channel, one that enables states to establish relations without incurring significant risks or without engaging in more consequential arenas such as economic or military exchanges, or official treaties? When a state chooses to use sport as a diplomatic tool, might this not reveal indicators of new regional or even global ambitions? Yet, given the autonomy of national sporting bodies, are athletes, coaches, and sports administrators truly willing to transform themselves into mouthpieces for their governments, into ‘ambassadors in tracksuits’? How can this complex network of institutions representing nations on the international stage be effectively coordinated?

And what about the IOC, international sports federations (IFs), and commercial sports leagues that have upheld the principles of autonomy and neutrality since the interwar period? What might we say about international organizations – such as the World Health Organization, UNESCO, and the United Nations – and regional bodies like the European Union and the African Union, all of which have integrated sport into their governance frameworks? Does the focus on elite sport and mega-events risk obscuring the broader role of sport in development aid, cross-border cooperation, and decentralized partnerships? Finally, does the incorporation of sport into diplomatic practice give rise to distinctive forms and practices?

Unlike the often-speculative analyses of many experts, this conference aims to examine the relationship between diplomats, diplomacies, and sport by analyzing sources (archives, interviews, etc.), with a focus on its forms, practices, and the actors who shape them. 

Few scholarly works based on source analysis have investigated the specific actions of foreign ministries or the role of sport within diplomatic institutions, which would allow for a mapping of actors and the dynamics at play. Furthermore, there are very few studies on multilateral conferences, which bring together sports ministries and administrative bodies, or studies that analyse how sport appears on the agendas of intergovernmental organizations. The theme of sport and international relations has remained a largely overlooked area in scholarly research within history, international relations, and organizational sociology.

Sports diplomacy since the 2010s has generated a number of conferences, special issues, and doctoral theses. For many years, however, it was dismissed as anecdotal and rarely linked to broader historiographical debates on public or cultural diplomacy. Research in this field has largely focused on its most visible manifestations – such as boycotts, ping-pong diplomacy, cricket diplomacy, and wrestling diplomacy – as well as on major sporting events, often adopting a state-centric or nation-centric perspective. While the archives of ministries responsible for youth and sport, national federations, and certain international organizations (e.g. the IOC, FIFA, and World Athletics) are relatively well documented and accessible, those of foreign ministries, embassies, and intergovernmental bodies remain largely underutilized.

A robust empirical approach and systematic international comparisons are essential to identify and analyze the actors involved, to uncover potential rivalries and conflicts among national stakeholders in international sporting relations, to identify non-state actors (cities, regions, stateless nations, private actors), to assess the actual role of national administrations and sports organizations and to clarify operational processes and evaluate their impacts. The goal is to challenge prevailing narratives and move beyond the often-overused concepts in this field – such as soft power and nation branding – whose limitations have been effectively critiqued by scholars like Ludovic Tournès or Laurence Badel. In order to move away from a Western-centric perspective, we encourage submissions addressing imperial issues, newly emerged states since 1918, attempts to create a sporting ‘Global South’, etc.

In this context, we invite contributions organized around the following themes:

Theme 1: Agenda-setting and implementation of sports diplomacy.

• • Origins of sport as an object of diplomacy: actors, contexts, and turning points;
  • Historical evolution of national sports diplomacies (Western, imperial, newly independent states, sporting ‘Global South’);
  • Role of intergovernmental organizations and multilateral cooperation in promoting sports and physical education.

Theme 2: Actors in sports diplomacy.

• • Origins and development of administrations linked to international relations and sport;
  • Cooperation and coordination between public administrations and private organizations (federations, national Olympic committees);
  • Role of ambassadors and consuls in formalizing sports diplomacy;
  • ‘Second-tier’ actors in sports diplomacy: sports cooperation within embassies and foreign affairs administrations;
  • Role of cities and regional powers;
  • Emergence and practices of interest groups (think tanks, lobbies) in international relations and sport;
  • Informal actors in sports diplomacy (sponsors, media, sports leaders, athletes);
  • Sporting cultures of diplomats: how does sport influence their professional practices?

Theme 3:  Forms and practices of sports diplomacy.

• • Forms of sports cooperation: bilateral/multilateral agreements, joint programs, etc.
  • Sport as a tool for peace promotion and interpersonal diplomacy;
  • Role of international and intergovernmental conferences and forums in structuring sports diplomacy;
  • Decentralized cooperation and sport: local and transnational initiatives;
  • Specificities of diplomatic practices across different sports;
  • Colonial and post-colonial aid for sports development.

Organising Committee

(In process.) Raphaël Benbouhou and Patrick Clastres (UNIL) and Sylvain Dufraisse (Nantes Université, Institut universitaire de France)

Scientific board

Laurence Badel (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), Florence Carpentier (Université de Toulouse), Mario Del Pero (Science Po, Paris), Yannick Deschamps (Université de Picardie Jules Verne), Charlotte Faucher (University of Bristol), Stanislas Jeannesson (Nantes Université), Michal Kobierecki (University of Lodz), Pia Koivunen (University of Turku), Lindsay Krasnoff (Preston Robert Tisch Institute for Global sport, New York University), Claire Nicolas (Universität Basel), Nicolas Peyre (Université Toulouse-Capitole), Toby Rider (Texas Tech University), Nicola Sbetti (Università di Bologna), Daniele Serapiglia (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Ludovic Tournès (Université de Genève), Philippe Vonnard (Université de Fribourg), Leslie Waters (University of Texas El Paso), Sacha Zala (Historiches Institut Unniversität Bern).

Submissions

• • Call for paper deadline: February 16, 2026;
  • Selection of papers and response from the committee: March 15, 2026.
  • Submission of a 1,500-word abstract: September 1, 2026.

Applicants should send as one file (.doc,.docx or.pdf): (1) an abstract of no more than 500 words, that also indicates which of the proposed conference topics it addresses, and that must outline both the content of the proposed paper and the key sources that will be used, and (2) a short bio with his or her affiliation. Please name the file in the following format: 2026_DDS_Name and send to diplomates.sport.2026@unil.ch

Lunches and coffee breaks will be provided to panelists for the three-day conference.

We realize that there may be financial barriers preventing some scholars from attending the conference. We could provide limited financial assistance contingent upon the availability of budgeted funds. Interested applicants should contact the organizing committee (diplomates.sport.2026@unil.ch) for further details.

Contact Information

The organizing committee: diplomates.sport.2026@unil.ch