Routledge Online Studies on the Olympic and Paralympic Games www.routledgeonlinestudies.com Vassil Girginov, Managing Editor Taylor & Francis Group, Informa UK Limited Routledge Online Studies on the Olympic and Paralympic Games 4 Park Square Vassil.Girginov@brunel.ac.uk Milton Park Abingdon Kate Nuttall, Managing Editor Oxon, OX14 4RN Routledge Sport and Leisure Journals United Kingdom Kate.Nuttall @tandf.co.uk www.tandfonline.com What is Olympism? Dr Dikaia Chatziefstathiou Olympism has been criticised for being inherently contradictory and in my work I have illustrated that the nature of this philosophy has been a contested one in the discourse of the modern Olympic Movement. Olympism’s rhetoric called for universal ideals and equal opportunities for all people and all nations, but at the same time it may be seen as exclusionary, elitist and racist. The changing background against which this philosophy has developed and evolved is however one which is not simply a matter of changing economic, political and cultural circumstances. It is in effect against the background of changing worldviews/ epistemologies that the philosophy has developed. This shift in epistemological frameworks is captured best perhaps in two discussions. The first is that of a shift from the certainty of modernity and the Enlightenment project to a more fragmented, pluralist and uncertain set of worldviews variously expressed in what have been termed ‘late’, ‘high’ or ‘post’-modernity. The second is the growing recognition in the post-colonial era of the western-centric (occidental) nature of many of the claims and assumptions implicit in the ‘common sense’ notions or espoused philosophies evident throughout the 20 th century. This blog will discuss such paradoxes and contestations of the ideology of Olympism in the modern global Olympic era and will encourage debates on the following questions: Has Olympism changed over time? If yes, what have been the reasons underpinning such changes? Do the Olympic Games need the moral agenda of Olympism or would they be more ‘honest’ without it? How Olympism can be best used for maximising the benefits from such an association with the Olympic and Paralympic Games? How do you envisage any future changes in the light of current challenges such as the financial crisis, betting etc.?