Sarath K. Ganji

Sarath K. Ganji is a Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy and has been a U.S. Fulbright Scholar based in the Arabian Gulf. His work explores the role of sports in autocratic regimes’ global influence operations.

April 2023, Volume 34, Issue 2

The Rise of Sportswashing

The staggering global popularity of soccer makes it a prime target for regimes that worry about the negative press they get for their undemocratic practices. The Gulf monarchies have led the way in getting into the wide world of sports as a means of cleaning their image.