International Olympic Committee as a Diplomatic Actor

Abstract

The issue of diplomatic activity of the International Olympic Committee is the subject of the research, whereas the main research problem refers to the question whether in the contemporary world the IOC can be regarded as a diplomatic actor? The article comprises a theoretical part dedicated to the category of sports diplomacy and its actors and an empirical part which encompasses four case studies which illustrate the proposed types of diplomatic activities of the IOC. According to the main hypothesis, position and role of the IOC in the contemporary world led to a situation that its activity in the international environment strongly resembles diplomatic activity of states.