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Surveilling and securing the Olympics : from Tokyo 1964 to London 2012 and beyond / ed. Vida Bajc
Edited by Palgrave Macmillan - 2015
This book explores the relationship between the Olympic Games, with its ethos of openness and collectivism, and the security concerns and surveillance technologies that are becoming increasingly prevalent in the organisation of public events. Taking a comparative and historical approach, it analyzes how security and surveillance, as forms of social control, have served as means by which to cope with the complexities and uncertainties involved in the Olympics. The contributors to this edited collection together develop the idea of the 'security meta-ritual' to explain security practices, the aim of which are to encapsulate, encircle and envelop global planned events to ensure control over their processes. In doing so, they create a sterile, controlled environment in which the Olympics can be performed. By analyzing surveillance and security practices in the Olympic Games, starting with Tokyo 1964 and through to London 2012, this book represents a significant effort to understand how this form of social control has emerged historically. It will be of particular interest to scholars of security studies, sports and mega-events, criminology, sociology and anthropology.