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About the talk
The failed merger of Saudi Arabia’s rebel LIV Golf tournament with the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) was the latest attempt by non-western nations to take control of the management of international sporting events. This process has been facilitated by globalisation, which has created an economic power shift from the western to the non-western world; these countries are now using their wealth to take increasing control of international sporting institutions.

Yet, as this transformation unfolds, there have been charges that countries such as the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China are using sporting events to sportswash their tarnished international images caused by human rights violations and/or anti-LGBTQ+ policies.

The talk will discuss why western nations were able to dominate the institutions of international sport, the ramifications of that dominance, and how globalisation has made it possible for non-western nations to redirect international sporting institutions. It will also examine whether this shift represents non-western countries engaging in sportswashing, or whether it is symbolic of a broader power shift in international affairs.

About the speaker
Amit Gupta is a Senior Visiting Fellow with the Centre for Policy Research. He was on the faculty of the Department of International Security in the U.S. Air Force Air War College, Maxwell AFB and is now a Senior Advisor to the Forum of Federations, Ottawa, Canada. Amit is author, co-author or editor of the following books, Building an Arsenal: The Evolution of Regional Power Force Structures, India’s Nuclear Security, The Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific: Maritime Challenges, Opportunities, and Policies, Global Security Watch—India, Strategic Stability in Asia, and Air Forces: Next Generation. Professor Gupta has worked on Diasporas, Race, and domestic and foreign policy.

In the realm of popular culture, he has written in academic journals and magazines on Doctor Who, The Defenders, Star Trek, international cricket, and the globalisation of sports. Dr. Gupta was educated at the University of Delhi and the Australian National University, and has a PhD from the University of Illinois. In his spare time, he coached the Air War College Soccer Team for the Jim Thorpe Inter-Services Competition Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.