March 1st 2024: Guest Lecture “The IOC’s conception of the world from 1894 to the present day”

On 1st March 2024, Prof. Patrick Clastres, a professor and cultural and political historian at the University of Lausanne, delivered a guest lecture titled “The IOC’s Perspective on the World from 1894 to Present” at the Tsukuba University, Myogadani campus, Tokyo, Japan.

The event was conducted in a hybrid format, with approximately 30 participants, 7 attending in person and 20 joining online. Sugiyama sensei moderated the lecture.

The primary aim of this lecture was to elucidate the IOC’s evolving role from a historical point of view. This was necessitated by the fact that the IOC has been subject to the international and national politics of each era, prompting it to adapt flexibly to ensure the continuation of the Olympic Games.

A historical examination of the IOC offers valuable insights into pressing issues within the current sports society. Especially, Professor Clastres argued that IOC had never been in the vanguard of the defence of human rights.

Professor Clastres outlined six current issues during the lecture: (1) the Russo-Ukrainian war; (2) nationality; (3) human rights; (4) CAS in relation to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Testing Agency (ITA); (5) intersex and transgender issues; and (6) anti-doping policy. Despite the rarity of historians addressing future scenarios, Professor Clastres shared his perspectives on these topics from a historical standpoint.

Therefore, he concluded that studying the IOC’s history can illuminate potential solutions to these contemporary challenges within the sports community.