Jane Buchanan , Professor Natalie Koch, and Gabriele Marcotti discuss the how the 2018 World Cup in Russia is inseparable from political discussions in an event part of the New York Russia Public Policy Seminar sponsored by Columbia's Harriman Institute and New York University’s Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia.

From June 14 to July 15, 2008, the Russian Federation will host the 21st FIFA World Cup finals, the most watched global sporting event. In the wake of the International Olympic Committee’s recent decision to ban Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the FIFA World Cup offers Moscow the opportunity to regain the global spotlight and rebrand itself. Our panel, consisting of leading academics, activists and sports journalists will consider the relationship between global sporting events, their world governing bodies and local political agendas, and will identify the trends, themes and tensions that will drive international media coverage of the tournament: How should sports journalists manage the balance between covering a sporting event and delving into the political controversies that may surround its staging? What were the particular lessons learned by international activists from their efforts to use the 2014 Sochi Olympics as an campaign opportunity?  And, in general, how should we understand and evaluate the impact of a global sporting spectacle on the political agenda of a host country’s governing regime?

Panelists:

Jane Buchanan, Associate Director of the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch

Natalie Koch, Associate Professor and O’Hanley Faculty Scholar in the Department of Geography at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs

Gabriele Marcotti, ESPN Senior Writer and Times Columnist

The New York Russia Public Policy Seminar is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York