The Olympics are the ultimate sports mega-events as they attract massive worldwide attention. Consequently, the Olympics offer a platform for host nations to gain political legitimatisation and for...Show moreThe Olympics are the ultimate sports mega-events as they attract massive worldwide attention. Consequently, the Olympics offer a platform for host nations to gain political legitimatisation and for minorities to empower their claim of independence. This thesis aims to answer: To what extend did Catalan and Tibetan activists deploy the window of opportunity created by the Torch Relays preceding the Olympic Games to empower their nonviolent resistance campaigns? In this thesis two case studies are discussed: the nonviolent resistance campaign of Catalans during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on the one hand and the actions of pro-Tibet activists surrounding the Beijing Olympics of 2008 on the other. In both cases, the Torch Relays will be taken as focal point, because it turned out that the "game" between activists and authorities was played during the Torch Relay preceding the opening of the real Games. By focussing on the perspective and agency of the activists, this research takes a bottom-up approach. In short, this thesis argues that the Olympics Torch Relay can function as this temporarily window of political opportunity, which activists can deploy to empower their nonviolent resistance campaigns.Show less
