Discuss political and socio-economic similarities and differences between the men’s FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and a potential FIFA World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia.

Political similarities: 

• Geopolitical influence and diplomacy through sports, soft power

• Regional dynamics 

• International criticism of human rights 

Political differences:

• Geographical size: size matters in how states react… (talk about the pros and cons of small states compared to a big state, vulnerability, agility…in hosting the World Cup)  

• The theory of sports washing in Saudi Arabia, while Qatar’s criticism of migrant workers came after its spotlight with winning the bid, “they did not hide social issues through sports.”

• Foreign policy approach

Socio-economic similarities  

• Dependency on oil and gas but efforts in diversifying its economy 

• Vision plans of 2030

• Migrant labor force 

• Infrastructure development 

Soio-ecnomic differences:

• Economic size 

• Tourism sector 

• Social changes and culture: Saudi Arabia has only recently adjusted to new social changes and improvements compared to Qatar 

Guidelines:

• Provide a thesis statement of thesis statement

•  good analysis with references 

• Use the Chicago 17th edition as a reference style.

•   The long essay must include quotations from at least five class readings (journal articles or book chapters from the textbook. One textbook book chapter counts as one class reading, two chapters as two class readings, etc.).

•   Use at least five other academic sources (books, academic journal articles, conference papers – you can also use newspaper articles, but they are not counted as academic sources).

•  Divide your (alphabetic) bibliography into two sections: Classroom and Other Sources. 

•  Basic academic skills such as providing references within your essay have to be met for a passing grade

THE FIRST 5 DOWNLOADS ARE THE OTHER ACADEMIC SOURCES :

– “Entering the global arena”

– “Resistance and Reform as Responses to Human Rights Criticism.pdf”

– “The World Cup- A Mixed Blessing for Qatari Soft Power.pdf”

– “How the FIFA World Cup 2022 Changed Qatar”

– “The_FIFA_World_Cup_A_History_of_the_Planets_Bigge.pdf”

THE LAST 5 ARE THE CLASS READINGS 

– “Routledge_Handbook_of_Sport_in_the_Middle_East”

– “Saudi Arabia sports diplomacy and authoritarian capitalism in world politics.pdf”

– “Unpacking the politics of sportswashing.pdf”