Article

Abstract:

A prominent feature of the Olympic Movement and international sport is national representation: athletes compete under a national flag, a premise upon which an entire system is based. This rationale supports the financial stability of the sports industry, promoting investments and interest. Conversely, the national imperative raises issues. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza offer examples of how athletes are vulnerable to discrimination because of their nationality, threatening the cosmopolitan Olympic spirit and inclusive nature of international sport. Within this context, the article will evaluate the place of national representation in sport through the examples of armed conflicts and, drawing from cosmopolitanism and human rights, critique the current primacy of nationality over performance. Ultimately, to answer the troubling effects of national representation in the contemporary governance of sport, it will be possible to demonstrate how a new form of cosmopolitan governance is necessary to overcome current challenges.