{"id":3868,"date":"2026-02-09T04:05:32","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T04:05:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3868"},"modified":"2026-02-09T04:05:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T04:05:32","slug":"how-geopolitics-affects-the-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=3868","title":{"rendered":"How Geopolitics Affects the Games"},"content":{"rendered":"


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As the Winter Olympics kick off in northern Italy, geopolitical tensions are palpable. From unconventional<\/a> protests against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to heated debates on Russia\u2019s ostensible ban<\/a> from competing, international politics is puncturing the veneer of global sportsmanship associated with the Games.<\/p>\n

Of course, political realities have never been fully suspended at the Olympics. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, consider the 1936 Winter Games\u2014which, according to<\/a> Paul Hockenos, \u201coffer an even more dramatic vantage point on Nazi ideology\u201d than Germany\u2019s better-known Summer Olympics that year. Or recall the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games and the human rights-based criticism<\/a> of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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As the Winter Olympics kick off in northern Italy, geopolitical tensions are palpable. From unconventional<\/a> protests against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to heated debates on Russia\u2019s ostensible ban<\/a> from competing, international politics is puncturing the veneer of global sportsmanship associated with the Games.<\/p>\n

Of course, political realities have never been fully suspended at the Olympics. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, consider the 1936 Winter Games\u2014which, according to<\/a> Paul Hockenos, \u201coffer an even more dramatic vantage point on Nazi ideology\u201d than Germany\u2019s better-known Summer Olympics that year. Or recall the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games and the human rights-based criticism<\/a> of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that the competing delegations won\u2019t strive for what Charlize Theron referred to at Friday\u2019s opening ceremony as a \u201ccommon humanity.\u201d The Olympics may not live up to the promise of the erstwhile liberal order, but, as Bobby Ghosh writes<\/a>, \u201cWe\u2019ll watch the downhill runs and the figure skating. We\u2019ll marvel at human excellence on ice and snow.\u201d And, if you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ll revel in the drama of the Games and try not to let geopolitics spoil the fun.<\/p>\n

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An illustration of Olympic rings teetering on a mountain in Italy as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni looks up.<\/figcaption>

Foreign Policy Illustration\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Compromise Olympics<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

How Milan Cortina became the Winter Games nobody wanted to fight about, according to Bobby Ghosh.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\n \"Russian
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Russian President Vladimir Putin wears the same hockey uniform as the group of players he greets on the ice.<\/figcaption>

Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) smiles as he walks past ice hockey star Alexander Ovechkin (third from left) during a hockey legends team match against students in Sochi on Sept. 1, 2015.Mikhail KLIMENTYEV\/POOL\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Russia Has Turned Sports Into a Weapon<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

The Olympic ban is a necessary counter to Moscow\u2019s abuse, Joel Wasserman writes.<\/p>\n


\n \"Hitler
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Hitler looks out on a snowy scene at the Olympics, including a man holding an American flag and members of the crowd giving the salute.<\/figcaption>

Adolf Hitler watches as the crowd below lifts their arms to give the Nazi salute during the Olympic Winter Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany, on Feb. 17, 1936. UPI\/Bettmann\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Other Nazi Olympics<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Ninety years ago, Nazi Germany hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics\u2014but the latter has unjustly gone forgotten, Paul Hockenos writes.<\/p>\n


\n \"The
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The wind blows a plastic bag past the National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest, in Beijing on Jan. 23, 2008.<\/figcaption>

The wind blows a plastic bag past the National Stadium, also known as the Bird\u2019s Nest, in Beijing on Jan. 23, 2008. Guang Niu\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Olympics Have a Dirty History\u2014Literally<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

But a green sports movement is pushing for change, Madeleine Orr writes.<\/p>\n


\n \"A
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A flame is lighted, with one hand holding a bowl.<\/figcaption>

Actress Katerina Lechou lights the Olympic flame at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, where the Olympic Games were born in 776 B.C., on Oct. 24, 2017.Aris Messinis\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Pathological Obsession With Moving the Olympics<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Having a single host site would be a simple\u2014and entirely traditional\u2014fix for what ails the Games, David Clay Large writes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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As the Winter Olympics kick off in northern Italy, geopolitical tensions are palpable. From unconventional protests against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to heated debates on Russia\u2019s ostensible ban from competing, international politics is puncturing the veneer of global sportsmanship associated with the Games. Of course, political realities have never been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3868","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}