Sport as a Determinant of National Security

Abstract

The political challenges invite sport to play a peaceful role in international relations. Among all these challenges, national security is a critical part of different states. This study tried to investigate the conceptual framework of sport and national security. The present study was qualitative based on descriptive and applied methods. At first, the literature reviews were studied, and then the semi-open interviews were done with 12 experts in sport sciences and policymakers. After 3 rounds of the Delphi technique, 15 concepts were extracted in 5 main dimensions: economic, military, political, social, and health. Finally, the sport seems to play a vital role in supporting various aspects of security. Iran, as a country under the most severe sanctions on its political economy, can use the phenomenon of sport as a lever to mitigate the effects of international sanctions on its economy, politics, and security in general.

Keywords

• copenhagen theory
• security
• sport