Dr Carmen Pérez González - Leveraging the playing field: harnessing sport as a tool to ensure compliance with international law

IAS Visiting Fellow Dr Carmen Pérez González (UNESCO Chair in Educational Linkage Through International Sports) delivers a seminar on their research -  Traditionally, the international community has not fully recognized the capacity of sports as an enforcement tool within the realm of international law. Despite sporadic instances of sports-related boycotts and sanctions, its complete potential remains largely unrealized. However, the traditional notion of sports as apolitical has been challenged by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In response, sports organizations and public authorities have adopted a variety of coercive measures whose legal basis is complex and contested. Ultimately, this reaction illustrates that sports can serve as an effective instrument not only for diplomacy, peace, and the safeguarding of human rights, but also for compelling adherence to international obligations. This study scrutinizes various normative and institutional examples from both public and sporting authorities, with the ultimate objective of contributing to the debate on the possible redefinition of the concept of political neutrality in sport and, with it, the relationship between the sports movement and international law. For more information about the IAS, please visit - https://www.lboro.ac.uk/research/ias