As part of our current focus on sport, SEN Journal: Online Exclusives is delighted to present an exclusive commentary on nationalism and the olympics by Steven J. Mock.
Photo credit: Nick J Webb, Flickr
They were a strange sight in the parade of athletes during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, stuck between Iceland and India: the “Independent Olympic Athletes”. And I was reminded of Ernest Gellner’s observation that having a nation in the modern world is akin to having a nose and two ears; sure, it’s possible one might lack one of these things, but unnatural, the result of an extraordinary tragedy. These three athletes (apparently from the recently dissolved Netherlands Antilles) compensated for their disability by making the most boisterous entrance they could, dancing their way into the stadium then pantomiming their events throughout the procession. Making light of their absurd condition, they were transformed from piteous to heroic objects: Oscar Pistorius had overcome his lack of legs to become an Olympian; these people had overcome their lack of a nation.
