Global Perspectives

Contributor Perspectives

The Olympic flag flying at half-mast in the Olympic Stadium in Munich during the Sept. 6, 1972, memorial service for the Israeli athletes who were killed by terrorists the day before.

For years, the CIA and KGB defied the event's political neutrality to wage Cold War, and the Sochi Games show that intelligence agencies still find the event an attractive target.

A History of the Olympic Spy Games

Highlights

United States

Russia

The U.S. and the Balance of Power

Echoes of the Cold War

The Geopolitics of Sport

In the last half of the 20th century, the leaders of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have pushed to elevate the Olympics above the realm of international politics. The games, according to those who made the argument, constituted a space beyond the squabbles among nations. But geopolitical reality meant that those lofty ideals often went unmet. 

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A History of the Olympic Spy Games

Keep Reading