Sport, soft power and cultural relations

The contribution of soft power and sports to foreign policy has been an expanding area of research and yet a relative silence exists on the making of effective cultural relations through sport. Revisionist accounts of sport, soft power and diplomacy have provided a refreshing impetus that has enabled sport to have a 21st century voice in national conversations around foreign policy and international relations. An opportunity exists to make the case that sport is part of the essential toolbox for anyone involved in contemporary cultural relations. That sport can contribute to the common good. The purpose of this article is to make such a case. What is cultural relations and why is it needed now as a soft critique of soft power and diplomacy and the role of sport in making the art of the possible, possible?