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Journals / Akademik Düşünce Dergisi / 2026 / Sayı: 13

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION AND SPORTS RELATIONS: THE CASE OF THE SOVIETS AND YUGOSLAVIA

KAMU DİPLOMASİSİ, STRATEJİK İLETİŞİM VE SPOR İLİŞKİSİ: SOVYETLER VE YUGOSLAVYA ÖRNEĞİ

Özgür Yılmaz(IBN HALDUN UNIVERSITY)0000-0003-3020-8550
Pages
23–48
Publication Date
2026-06-30
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

These examples highlight the deliberate integration of sports into strategic communication and diplomatic agendas, offering valuable insights into the interplay between politics, culture, and international engagement.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:This study explores the intersection of public diplomacy and sports diplomacy, emphasizing their significance as instruments of cultural and ideological influence in contemporary international relations.
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Key Findings & Data:Employing comparative-historical analysis, the research delves into the distinctive trajectories of sports diplomacy in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, illustrating how both countries strategically integrated sports into their broader frameworks of strategic communication to project ideological narratives, cultivate domestic cohesion, and engage with the international community.
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Conclusion & Impact:These examples highlight the deliberate integration of sports into strategic communication and diplomatic agendas, offering valuable insights into the interplay between politics, culture, and international engagement.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Kamu Diplomasisi · Spor Diplomasisi · Spor

Abstract

This study explores the intersection of public diplomacy and sports diplomacy, emphasizing their significance as instruments of cultural and ideological influence in contemporary international relations. Employing comparative-historical analysis, the research delves into the distinctive trajectories of sports diplomacy in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, illustrating how both countries strategically integrated sports into their broader frameworks of strategic communication to project ideological narratives, cultivate domestic cohesion, and engage with the international community. Public diplomacy, grounded in the concept of soft power, operates as part of a larger strategic communication strategy aimed at influencing international audiences through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion. Sports diplomacy extends these principles by leveraging the universal language of sports to foster international relationships, promote reconciliation, and enhance national prestige. The study demonstrates that while the Soviet Union employed sports to showcase the superiority of the socialist system through coordinated communication efforts, Yugoslavia used sports diplomacy to navigate its non-aligned status, balancing internal diversity with external partnerships. These examples highlight the deliberate integration of sports into strategic communication and diplomatic agendas, offering valuable insights into the interplay between politics, culture, and international engagement.

Özet

Bu çalışma, kamu diplomasisi ve spor diplomasisinin kesişimini inceleyerek, bu alanların modern uluslararası ilişkilerde kültürel ve ideolojik etki araçları olarak taşıdığı önemi vurgulamaktadır. Karşılaştırmalı-tarihsel analiz yöntemine dayanan araştırma, Sovyetler Birliği ve Yugoslavya’da spor diplomasisinin birbirinden farklı gelişim yollarını ve bu ülkelerin sporu stratejik iletişim çerçevesinde nasıl diplomatik bir araç olarak kullandıklarını ortaya koymaktadır. Yumuşak güç kavramına dayanan kamu diplomasisi, stratejik iletişim stratejilerinin temel bir bileşeni olarak, uluslararası hedef kitleleri çekicilik ve ikna yoluyla etkilemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Spor diplomasisi ise, bu yaklaşımın bir uzantısı olarak, sporun evrensel dili üzerinden ilişkiler inşa etmekte, uzlaşmayı teşvik etmekte ve ulusal prestiji artırmaktadır. Araştırma, Sovyetler Birliği’nin spor aracılığıyla sosyalist sisteminin üstünlüğünü öne çıkardığını, Yugoslavya’nın ise tarafsız ve çok kültürlü yapısı içinde sporu hem iç bütünlüğü hem de dış ilişkileri dengelemek için stratejik olarak kullandığını göstermektedir. Her iki örnek de sporun, diplomatik ve ideolojik hedeflerle bütünleşmiş bir şekilde stratejik iletişim araçlarına dönüştürülmesinin, siyaset, kültür ve uluslararası ilişkiler arasındaki dinamik etkileşimi anlamak açısından değerli içgörüler sunduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Yılmaz, Ö. (2026). PUBLIC DIPLOMACY, STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION AND SPORTS RELATIONS: THE CASE OF THE SOVIETS AND YUGOSLAVIA. Akademik Düşünce Dergisi, Sayı: 13, 23–48. https://doi.org/10.53507/akademikdusunce.1758437

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