The Sochi 2014 Games in Context: A Transhistorical Examination of Sociopolitical Issues in International Sport

The events leading up to and following the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics can be better understood in the transhistorical context of the contentious relationships between the United States, Russia, and Germany since the 1960's. The intense nationalism that fuels Olympic competition was especially enhanced by the deep ideological differences of the Cold War, as seen in the 1980 "Miracle on Ice." The ideological fight between capitalism and communism became the frame by which social issues were politicized, such as doping, gender, and disability; then sociocultural divisions, like disagreements on the perception of gender and homosexuality, emerged in place of ideological ones. Through these cultural and political disagreements, we see continuing conflict between the United States and Russia on an international sport stage carried out in much the same manner (and to the same effect) as in the past.