Analysing politicisation around sports mega events (sme) in contemporary russia
Sports mega events (SME) have raised major interest in Russia and are massively invested by the current political power, as demonstrated by the personal implication of V. Putin in the Russian application to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and the 2018 Football World Cup. SME are efficient tools of legitimacy for the political power, however, they are also an object of controversy. While the hosting of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the good performance of the Russian football team generated enthusiasm within the Russian society, doping and corruption scandals still tarnish Russia in the international sporting arena. Additionally, the pension reform adopted during the last World Cup resulted in vivid criticism within the Russian society. Following this observations, SMERUPOL aims at answering the following question: to what extent and how do Russians politicise their point of view around the theme of SME? Thus, SMERUPOL aims at filling a gap in the literature on the construction of the relationship towards politics in contemporary Russia; a field that remains widely understudied. More broadly, it intends to contribute to the study of the politicisation processes in authoritarian contexts. Building on the Experienced Researcher’s (ER) expertise in Russian politics as well as in sports and politics in Russia, the Individual Fellowship will provide the ER with a chance to access and participate in international researchers’ networks, while diversifying her scientific expertise, training in new scientific and transferable skills, thus reinforcing her maturity as an IR scholar, as well as the host institution’s own visibility in the European Research Area.