War and Soccer/Football

robertmac43

Forever 43!
Mar 31, 2015
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i'm currently doing the preliminary research in a University Political Science paper that is talking about Soccer as a unifying force that can help build peace and deter conflict. I'm also putting a lot of emphasis on reconciliation. So far some of the case studies I am looking at are Drogba's speech, Rwanda's peace cup, Iraq's national team, and of course Germany and Britannia in WW1.

Are there any other major examples of case studies I should look into?

Also wanting feedback on any thoughts on War, Politics, and Soccer and how they connect.

Thanks!
 

Wee Baby Seamus

Yo, Goober, where's the meat?
Mar 15, 2011
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Halifax/Toronto
Ironically, there are far more counter-examples than there are examples, instances where soccer has been the catalyst of conflicts based in pre-existing issues of class, race, religion, and nationality. The union of political/national identity and club team loyalty is rich analytical ground and there are countless examples of it (many of which would be better spoken to by the members of our HFSoccer community who come from those places).

On the peace side of things, Drogba's speech is probably the richest case study. Germany and Britain in WWI gets romanticized a lot (and one thing that could be interesting is looking at how the whole 'Christmas truce' is conceptualized and imagined in our memory of WWI).
 
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cgf

FireBednarsSuccessor
Oct 15, 2010
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Everybody hating those BFC scumbags did help Berliners on both sides come together after the wall came down...

We all like different teams; but, unless you're on a police watchlist, you don't like BFC...
 
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Il Mediano

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Feb 24, 2018
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Not really a reconciliation , but a deep dive into Lazio’s ties with Mussolini might uncover some things of interest.

There was an extremely troubling situation (disgusting,really) with Lazio ultra’s and defaming images of Anne Frank , which resulted in this :

Lazio will take fans to Auschwitz in bid to tackle anti-Semitism

Perhaps not quite as warm as your other examples, but I think you might find some use of it.

Best of luck on the paper , sounds like it could be fun!
 
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robertmac43

Forever 43!
Mar 31, 2015
23,093
15,175
Ironically, there are far more counter-examples than there are examples, instances where soccer has been the catalyst of conflicts based in pre-existing issues of class, race, religion, and nationality. The union of political/national identity and club team loyalty is rich analytical ground and there are countless examples of it (many of which would be better spoken to by the members of our HFSoccer community who come from those places).

On the peace side of things, Drogba's speech is probably the richest case study. Germany and Britain in WWI gets romanticized a lot (and one thing that could be interesting is looking at how the whole 'Christmas truce' is conceptualized and imagined in our memory of WWI).

Yeah I have though about posing the question: Does soccer perpetuate war or does it deter war? And then use case studies from both sides and come up with a conclusion at the end.

I would say however that as much as soccer perpetuates conflict, the conflicts seem to be on a micro level. The unification that can come from soccer can bring people together on mass. Here is where the Drogba example would come in and also the Iraqi national team bringing together the various factions over the last decade.
 

robertmac43

Forever 43!
Mar 31, 2015
23,093
15,175
Not really a reconciliation , but a deep dive into Lazio’s ties with Mussolini might uncover some things of interest.

There was an extremely troubling situation (disgusting,really) with Lazio ultra’s and defaming images of Anne Frank , which resulted in this :

Lazio will take fans to Auschwitz in bid to tackle anti-Semitism

Perhaps not quite as warm as your other examples, but I think you might find some use of it.

Best of luck on the paper , sounds like it could be fun!

I will definitely look into this, thanks for the feedback! Its my last undergrad paper so I though I would have some fun with it!
 

cgf

FireBednarsSuccessor
Oct 15, 2010
59,984
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w/ Renly's Peach
There's some interesting pieces that have been written on how the nationalistic rivalries that used to drive european nations to near-constant war appear to now be funneled into other spheres, like football, instead. So that the sport has in some ways become one of many fields were pseudo-cold wars can be fought with much less drastic stakes. In that context, even clashes caused by thug Ultras, like those who support Berliner FC Dynamo, are significantly lower-casualty affairs than their predecessors in the field of inter-european conflict.

Could be another interesting direction for you to look into *shrug*

Or you could look at how german clubs encouraged their Ultras to volunteer with the response to the syrian refugee crisis; and how many of those pictures of german crowds waiting at train stations to welcome refugees were organized in large part thanks to these fan-groups. For a less controversial topic.
 

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