Governing Sport Diplomatically via Chinese Lenses that Strategize the Confucianism-embedded Soft Power: Exploring Sports Governance Imperatives and Sports Diplomacy Implications through Intercultural (and Transcultural) Paradigms

The current study advances a sports-oriented framework in which sport is strategically governed in a more diplomatic manner, with sports policies potentially being facilitated through Chinese lenses of soft power. Building on Murray’s (2018) conceptual framework of Sports Diplomacy and Dellios’ (2013) Confucianism-related theorisation within Chinese diplomatic ideations, this paper contextualises sports-embedded engagement, dialogue, and exchange. These occasions feature a diversity of sport-oriented scenarios, including competitive mega-events as an unofficial platform for state-led reconciliation, elite athletes’ ambassadorial roles as “diplomats in tracksuits”, integration of the nationwide Brisbane Olympics agenda into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-initiated Sports Diplomacy Strategy 2032+.

The notable sports diplomacy practices and strategies are academically justifiable by ancient Chinese philosophies dating back 2,500 years, which continue to play a significant role in both modern sports and diplomacy today. The findings and recommendations, relevant to sport industrial implementation and scholarly work, can be qualitatively extracted into credible soft power wisdom, with an empirical emphasis on ethical standards and social responsibility. The highlighted integrity essentially aligns with how sport is leveraged throughout both sporadic grassroots communities in a sovereign state and the entire civilisation across human history. Jointly, with an interdisciplinary effort across multiple lenses that are either cross-cultural or transnational, sports diplomacy ultimately becomes a decisive lever and an impactful governing catalyst for domestic, regional, and continental engagement. Overall, the constructive role of sports diplomacy currently contributes to the world amid a contested geopolitical landscape, which is intensified by ideological turbulence and realism-framed opportunistic challenges.