Jules Boykoff
Professor of Politics and Government, Pacific University
Chapter Member: Oregon SSN
Areas of Expertise:
Connect with Jules
About Jules
Boykoff is a political scientist whose research and writing focuses on political activism, media politics, and sport mega-events like the Olympic Games and World Cup. He is former professional soccer player who also represented the U.S. Olympic Soccer Team in international competition.
Contributions
Why the Olympic Games Generate Dissent and Attract Activists
Key Findings Brief,
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
"The Beijing Olympics Are Tearing Down the IOC’s Oldest Myth: That Sports Are Apolitical," Jules Boykoff, The Guardian, January 13, 2022.
"Tokyo’s Olympics Have Turned Nightmarish. L.A., Are You Watching?," Jules Boykoff, Opinion, The Los Angeles Times, July 22, 2021.
"The Human Costs of the Pandemic Olympics," Jules Boykoff (with ), World, The Nation, July 21, 2021.
"The IOC Says the 2032 Olympics Are Coming to Brisbane," Jules Boykoff (with ), Sports, The Nation, June 16, 2021.
"Tokyo Is Learning That the Only Force Stronger Than a Pandemic Is the Olympics," Jules Boykoff, Perspective, The Washington Post, May 27, 2021.
"A Sports Event Shouldn’t Be a Superspreader. Cancel the Olympics," Jules Boykoff, Opinion, The New York Times, May 11, 2021.
"Tokyo Olympics head Yoshiro Mori called out by Naomi Osaka and others for sexism. He must go.," Jules Boykoff, Culture and Lifestyle, Think, February 10, 2021.
"The Coronavirus Exposes Why the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Should Be Canceled," Jules Boykoff (with ), Sports, The Nation, March 4, 2020.
"Donald Trump Is the Ugly Face of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics," Jules Boykoff (with ), Sports, The Nation, February 20, 2020.
"Russia's 2018 World Cup Run is Over, but Putin – and Dictators Everywhere– Are Still Big Winners at Mega-Sports Events," Jules Boykoff, NBC Think, July 10, 2018.
"Europe's Win in the World-Cup a Sign of Colonial History and Economic Prowess," Jules Boykoff, Interview with Tanzina Vega, The Takeaway, July 9, 2018.
"The World Cup in Russia Could be a Display of Bigotry, Xenophobia and Ultranationalism," Jules Boykoff, Los Angeles Times, May 14, 2018.
"Winter Olympics 2018: the Latest Battleground between Athletes and Trump?," Jules Boykoff (with ), The Guardian, January 10, 2018.
"The Russia Doping Ban is a Big Black Mark for the Olympics--No Matter What Russia Does Next," Jules Boykoff, Quartz, December 6, 2017.
"From Russia Waiting to Learn Fate for 2018 Winter Olympics," Jules Boykoff, Interview with Tom Goldman, National Public Radio, December 4, 2017.
Jules Boykoff's research on , "L.A. is Vying to Host the Olympics in 11 Years — but is Hustling to Meet a Deadline Next Week," Los Angeles Times, August 10, 2017.
"Los Angeles has the Perfect Chance to Push Back against a Troubled IOC," Jules Boykoff, The Guardian, June 9, 2017.
Publications
Power Games: A Political History of the Olympics (Verso, 2016).
Takes readers from the Olympic's nineteenth-century origins, through the event's flirtation with Fascism, and into the contemporary era of corporate control. Along the way, recounts vibrant alt-Olympic movements, such as the Workers’ Games and Women’s Games of the 1920s and 1930s as well as athlete-activists and political movements that stood up to challenge the Olympic machine.
Activism and the Olympics: Dissent at the Games in Vancouver and London (Rutgers University Press, 2014).
Provides a critical overview of activist efforts to challenge the machinations of the Olympic
Games before zeroing in on protesters at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and the
2012 Summer Games in London.
"Celebration Capitalism and the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics" Olympika: The International Journal of Olympic Studies 22 (2013): 39-70.
Applies the theory of “celebration capitalism” to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi
Russia.