Power Plays: The Projection of Hard and Soft Power in Sport

Sources of power in political processes are often reduced to the dualism of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’. Sport, in both its practise and delivery might also evidence such characteristics as it is used to achieve political outcomes. The soft route is usually administered more ‘artfully’ in its attempt to shape performance and processes. The hard route relies more on threats and coercion albeit such processes may be subtle. In what follows a variety of sporting contexts, sporting events and sporting celebrities are considered in the possibilities that sport offers for dialogue across ideologies.