LSC Lecture Series | Jiří Zákravský (Pilsen) Undemocratic Regimes and Professional Road Cycling Teams’ Sponsorship

This talk is part of the LSC Lecture Series on Sport, Politics, Conflict, which is organized by the Leibniz ScienceCampus Europe and America in the Modern World. The talks are open to all staff at UR and IOS, as well as the general public. UR students can sign up for the course and receive credits.

Lecture hall H5 is in the lower Central Lecture Theatre Building (Zentrales Hörsaalgebäude - ZH) located near the Audimax. UR Campus-Plan 

Abstract | In recent years, professional cycling has become a sport in which teams are often sponsored by undemocratic regimes or state-owned companies from these countries. For them, this is one of many ways they present themselves to the international society and, in the ideal scenario, improve their national image and strengthen their soft power. In the current professional peloton, these include the Bahrain – Victorius team supported by Bahrain, XDS Astana Team from Kazakhstan, and UAE Team Emirates – XRG from the United Arab Emirates. Recently, Saudi Arabia has also been involved in sponsorship, supporting the Australian team Jayco AlUla. The lecture will focus on why these sponsors generally enter the world of professional cycling and the political/social motivations behind the teams mentioned above. It will attempt to answer whether they are successful in their efforts to use cycling teams to improve their reputation.

Bio | Jiří Zákravský works as an assistant professor at the Department of Politics and International Relations, Faculty of Arts, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen. He focuses on foreign policy, emphasising soft power tools, particularly sports diplomacy and using sport as a political tool. Among other things, he is the author of the book Cycling Diplomacy. Undemocratic Regimes and Professional Road Cycling Teams Sponsorship.