The Whole World Was Watching: Sport in the Cold War (Cold War International History Project)

The master narrative of Cold War sports describes a two-sided surrogate war, measurable by falsely objective medal counts every four years at the Olympic Games. This approach is as inadequate for sports as it is for the Cold War. Rather than a bipolar, superpower conflict, the Cold War was a competition between the dueling globalization projects of capitalism and Communism composed of far-from-monolithic blocs. While a fragile, fearful peace took shape in the Northern Hemisphere, both sides waged proxy wars that killed tens of millions in the Global South. Alongside other forms of popular culture, sports were deployed to win the sympathies of the world’s citizens, many of them from nations that had emerged in the wake of European decolonization. Sport was the most conspicuous form of popular culture in the period. It offered millions around the world the opportunity to forge identities that both supported and undermined dominant ideologies—racial, gender, local, regional, national, and international. Sport crossed rather than created borders and identities—and it did so in myriad and intricate ways. This book brings together experts working on sports in the United States, USSR, German Democratic Republic, Asia, and the postcolonial world. Their work is theoretically aware and underpinned by extensive archival research. Taken together, they go beyond simple notions of bipolarity and present new insights that should invigorate the study of both international systems and of culture in the Cold War period. Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Explaining Cold War Sport Robert Edelman and Christopher Young 16 PART I: THE UNITED STATES 42 1 In the “Twilight Warzone”: Overt and Covert Dimensions of the US Sports Offensive 44 2 “No Quarrel with Them Vietcong”: Muhammad Ali’s Cold War 57 PART II: THE SOVIET UNION 72 3 Breaking the Ice: Alexei Kosygin and the Secret Background of the 1972 Hockey Summit Series 74 4 Action in the Era of Stagnation: Leonid Brezhnev and the Soviet Olympic Dream 88 5 Soccer Artistry and the Secret Police: Georgian Football in the Multiethnic Soviet Empire 100 6 Russian Fever Pitch: Global Fandom, Youth Culture, and the Public Sphere in the Late Soviet Union 114 PART III: GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 126 7 Eulogy to Theft: Berliner FC Dynamo, East German Football, and the End of Communism 128 8 Sports, Politics, and “Wild Doping” in the East German Sporting “Miracle” 141 9 “The Most Beautiful Face of Socialism”: Katarina Witt and the Sexual Politics of Sport in the Cold War 158 PART IV: ASIA 176 10 Learning from the Soviet Big Brother: The Early Years of Sport in the People’s Republic of China 178 11 “The Communist Bandits have Been Repudiated”: Cold War–Era Sport in Taiwan 190 12 New Regional Order: Sport, Cold War Culture, and the Making of Southeast Asia 204 PART V: THE POSTCOLONIAL 220 13 Negotiating Colonial Repression: African Footballers in Salazar’s Portugal 222 14 Deflected Confrontations: Cold War Baseball in the Caribbean 238 15 Ambivalent Solidarities: Cultural Diplomacy, Women, and South-South Cooperation at the 1950s Pan American Games 254 Notes 270 Contributors 330 Index 334 A 334 B 335 C 336 D 338 E 338 F 338 G 339 H 340 I 340 J 341 K 341 L 341 M 342 N 343 O 343 P 344 Q 345 R 345 S 345 T 347 U 347 V 348 W 348 Y 349 Z 349 Introduction : Explaining Cold War Sport / Robert Edelman And Christopher Young -- In The Twilight Warzone : Overt And Covert Dimensions Of The Us Sports Offensive / Toby C. Rider -- No Quarrel With Them Vietcong : Muhammad Ali's Cold War / Elliott J. Gorn -- Breaking The Ice : Alexei Kosygin And The Secret Background Of The 1972 Hockey Summit Series / James Hershberg -- Action In The Era Of Stagnation : Leonid Brezhnev And The Soviet Olympic Dream / Mikhail Prozumenshikov -- Soccer Artistry And The Secret Police : Georgian Football In The Multiethnic Soviet Empire / Erik R. Scott -- Russian Fever Pitch : Global Fandom, Youth Culture, And The Public Sphere In The Late Soviet Union / Manfred Zeller -- Eulogy To Theft : Berliner Fc Dynamo (bfc), East German Football, And The End Of Communism / Alan Mcdougall -- Sports, Politics And Wild Doping In The East German Sporting Miracle / Mike Dennis -- The Most Beautiful Face Of Socialism : Katarina Witt And The Sexual Politics Of Sport In The Cold War / Annette F. Timm -- Learning From The Soviet Big Brother : The Early Years Of Sport In The People's Republic Of China / Amanda Shuman -- The Communist Bandits Have Been Repudiated : Cold War-era Sport In Taiwan / Andrew D. Morris -- New Regional Order : Sport, Cold War Culture, And The Making Of Southeast Asia / Simon Creak -- Negotiating Colonial Repression : African Footballers In Salazar's Portugal / Todd Cleveland -- Deflected Confrontations : Cold War Baseball In The Caribbean / Rob Ruck -- Ambivalent Solidarities : Cultural Diplomacy, Women And South-south Cooperation At The 1950s Pan-american Games / Brenda Elsey. Edited By Robert Edelman And Christopher Young. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "In the Cold War era, the confrontation between capitalism and communism played out not only in military, diplomatic, and political contexts, but also in the realm of culture--and perhaps nowhere more so than the cultural phenomenon of sports, where the symbolic capital of athletic endeavor held up a mirror to the global contest for the sympathies of citizens worldwide. The Whole World Was Watching examines Cold War rivalries through the lens of sporting activities and competitions across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the U.S. The essays in this volume consider sport as a vital sphere for understanding the complex geopolitics and cultural politics of the time, not just in terms of commerce and celebrity, but also with respect to shifting notions of race, class, and gender. Including contributions from an international lineup of historians, this volume suggests that the analysis of sport provides a valuable lens for understanding both how individuals experienced the Cold War in their daily lives, and how sports culture in turn influenced politics and diplomatic relations."-- Provided by publisher In the Cold War era, the confrontation between capitalism and communism played out not only in military, diplomatic, and political contexts, but also in the realm of culture - and perhaps nowhere more so than the cultural phenomenon of sports, where the symbolic capital of athletic endeavor held up a mirror to the global contest for the sympathies of citizens worldwide. The Whole World Was Watching examines Cold War rivalries through the lens of sporting activities and competitions across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the U.S. The essays in this volume consider sport as a vital sphere for understanding the complex geopolitics and cultural politics of the time, not just in terms of commerce and celebrity, but also with respect to shifting notions of race, class, and gender This state-of-the-field volume seeks to understand the cultural phenomenon of sports in the Cold War in its fullest social, political, cultural and global dimensions. Essays from an international lineup of contributors consider sport as a vital sphere for understanding the complex geopolitics and cultural politics of the time, not just in terms of commerce and celebrity, but also with respect to shifting notions of race, class, and gender