To What Extent Were the Moscow Olympic Games of 1980 Affected by Cold War Tensions?

A: Plan of investigation

The purpose of this study is to analyze extensively the role that Cold War tensions played in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. The analysis seeks to understand the effect that politics, have on the organization, implementation and eventually success of sporting events such as the Olympics. In order to do so, the analysis will address the events leading up to, during and after the Moscow Olympic Games of 1980. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 will be addressed to help place the games into perspective. Also, exchanges between the two nations before, during and after the games will be analyzed to understand if and to what extent they affected the games. To investigate the issue, the study will address the history, values, purpose and limitations of two critical sources; Olympic Sports and Propaganda Games: Moscow 1980 by Barukh Ḥazan and Dropping the Torch: Jimmy Carter, the Olympic Boycott, and the Cold War by Nicholas Evan Sarantakes.

B: Summary of Evidence

The Birth of the Cold War

Following the Second World War in 1946, two political super powers had emerged; the United States of America and the Soviet Union. In the period that followed, these two nations clamored for dominance over each other in every way possible; neither wanted to be left behind and as such even the smallest of competition between the two drew great resources and attention from the respective governments; “rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union that lasted for much of the second half of the 20th century resulted in mutual suspicions, heightened tensions and a series of international incidents that brought the world’s superpowers to the brink of disaster” (History).

Afghan Invasion of 1979, US Protests and the...

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...time/magazine/article/0,9171,926490,00.html>.

DW staff (nda). Moscow 1980: Cold War, Cold Shoulder. 31 July 2008. 10 April 2014 .

Ḥazan, Barukh. Olympic Sports and Propaganda Games: Moscow 1980. Ne Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1982.

Hill, Christopher R. Olympic Politics. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992.

History. Cold War. 10 April 2014 .

Horne, John and Garry Whannel. Understanding the Olympics. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Sarantakes, Nicholas Evan. Dropping the Torch: Jimmy Carter, the Olympic Boycott, and the Cold War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Tomlinson, Alan and Christopher Young. National Identity and Global Sports Events: Culture, Politics, and Spectacle in the Olympics and the Football World Cup. New York: SUNY Press, 2012.