The United Kingdom sends teams to Global Sporting Events (GSEs) with great frequency. These GSEs often take place in locations with questionable, or condemnable, human rights records. Despite this,...Show moreThe United Kingdom sends teams to Global Sporting Events (GSEs) with great frequency. These GSEs often take place in locations with questionable, or condemnable, human rights records. Despite this, in the political science field there is a lack of analysis of the messaging of the UK government as concerns participation in these events. This thesis will attempt to fill this gap in the literature. By focusing on the created narratives of the DCMS and the Foreign Office, I shall be able to analyse whether the UK talks out of both sides of its mouth around participation in these events. I shall apply elements of Festinger’s dissonance theory to the narratives created by the DCMS and Foreign Office with the goal of understanding whether the UK government was coherent in their messaging toward participation in World Cups in Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018.Show less
