Den moraliska bojkotten?

Sammanfattning: Sports and politics are inevitably intertwined, even if this notion seldom gets the space it deserves in academic circles. This thesis aims at lifting and theorizing around the phenomenon of boycott as a foreign policy tool in connection to the Olympic Games, focusing on the American boycott of the Moscow Olympics of 1980. I highlight and discuss some of the factors and actors behind the boycott decision with the aim to provide a clearer picture of the events in order to be able to theoretically contribute to the subjects of sports and politics. President Jimmy Carter came into office as a Washington outsider, boosted by the Watergate scandal and the American failure in the Vietnam war, with a deep commitment to restore the trust in politics and politicians. Carter has called the decision to boycott the Olympics his toughest decision, a decision I revisit using the theoretical frames of a mixed school of political science and psychology, poliheuristics, in order to get the full scope of moral thoughts behind Carters actions. The result of the thesis shows how sport and politics are affected by each other and how decision makers’ moral and values could play a part in politics.