In October 2008 a terrible kidnapping took place outside of the city of São Paulo, Brazil.   A 21-year-old took his former girlfriend hostage, eventually murdering her.  The event was played out for over 100 hours live on national television, yet some of the most dominant discourses were not about violence but about soccer.  Indeed, the president of the Palmeiras Soccer Club rushed to the kidnapping site to try to negotiate the release of the hostage, only to have his good intentions crushed by fans that started chanting team songs, forcing his negotiations with the kidnapper to halt.  After the episode ended in tragedy, the director of the SWAT team that botched the hostage rescue attempt lamented that the week was horrible, but it would end much better if only Palmeires would win the following Sunday.

            Many traditional scholars would analyze this story as an example of mass hysteria resulting from Latin American identity formation.  The explosion of research on identity in the region has largely ignored sport since it has been viewed as an end, not as a cause. Instead, many scholars have focused on Anderson’s Imagined Communities, which points to print culture as a critical factor in national identity construction, or Tilly, Centeno, and Weber who argue that national wars against foreign enemies make states and national identity.  For Latin Americanists, both sets of arguments are unconvincing, yet rarely have other causal factors been established as part of a systematic explanation of identity formation for South America.  

            Soccer is both the global game with 4 billion fans, uniting continents and nations, and a source of intense local identity and fracturing of national identity, resulting in street battles and violence in many cities.  The pulling of identity towards a larger identity in Italy, Africa, and Brazil and the use of soccer to weaken national identity and favor local ideas of nationalism and citizenship is what makes soccer a fascinating and enduring element in international and comparative politics.  This course will use readings, lectures, film, and a research project to explore soccer and politics.  The students are expected to do the readings before class, to participate in class discussions, and to gain an understanding of the political dimensions of the beautiful game.   

            Identity is not the only political or social manifestation that can be highlighted through soccer.  In fact, soccer is an excellent lens to examine and understand a great many of the key features of global politics, such as: Inequality, elections, gender representation, war, ethnic and religious divisions, global human trafficking, human rights, processes of globalization, dictatorship, corruption, diplomacy, propaganda, secession, institutions, imperialism/colonialism, fascism, racism, democracy, state recognition, and more.

            This class will provide an orientation to soccer and politics.  Books, newspaper readings, lectures, discussion, library assignments, and film will be the vehicles to gain an understanding.  This course is reading intensive.  You must be willing to engage the literature, focusing and turning off distractions.  If you do not enjoy reading and are not willing to read before class, please drop the class.