Norwegian human rights organisations and Olympic Games

Abstract

In this article, an analysis is made of Norwegian Human Rights organisations (HROs), their involvement in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, and consequences for their involvement in subsequent Games. We attempt to identify the organisations’ understanding of the Olympic Games as an arena for human rights activism and how “Olympic activism” provides meaning to the organisations’ work. The analysis exposes an interesting paradox. On the one hand, HROs recognise that the Olympic Games and the global human rights engagement did not contribute to an improvement of the human rights situation in China, but possibly led to a deterioration of the situation in certain areas. On the other hand, the conclusion was drawn that the Olympic Games engagement was a success in so far as it drew attention to the organisations and yielded greater legitimacy among the Norwegian population. The question is raised as to whether the experience of the Beijing Olympic Games campaigns could play a role in the Norwegian HROs’ activist approach in future Games such as the approaching winter Olympic Games in Russia.