Freakonomics Radio

Extra: What Is Sportswashing — and Does It Work? (Update)

6 snips
Mar 4, 2024
Victor Matheson, an economics professor, discusses the complex relationship between sports and a nation's reputation, particularly through the lens of sportswashing. Alan Shipnuck, a sports journalist, sheds light on the riveting LIV Golf saga and its clash with the PGA Tour. Jodi Balsam, a clinical law professor, provides a legal perspective on these controversies. Together, they explore how countries use sporting events to reshape their image while confronting the ethical dilemmas and possible backlash surrounding these tactics.
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INSIGHT

Sportswashing vs. Reputation Laundering

  • Sportswashing uses sporting events to mask a country's problems.
  • It's similar to other reputation laundering tactics, like Carnegie's libraries.
ANECDOTE

Bread and Circuses

  • Governments have used distractions for centuries, dating back to ancient Rome.
  • Juvenal's "bread and circuses" highlights how food and entertainment appease citizens.
ANECDOTE

Thai Soft Power

  • Thailand uses "gastro-diplomacy" as soft power.
  • They've opened thousands of Thai restaurants globally to boost their image.
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