Games

Olympic

Competition:

Structural

of

Correlates

National

Success*

DONALD

W. BALL

Univerisity of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Olympic
Success

Games

Competition:

Structural

Correlates

of National

THERE
ARE innumerable
the
sports, games, and contests throughout
at the international
level the games are the
modern world, but pre-eminently
resurrection
of the
turn-of-the-century
Olympic Games; Baron de Coubertin's
and
as
reiterated
Interancient Greek spectacles. Although
by
supposedly 1956: 35) - but competinational Olympic Committee officials (cf. Brundage,
tions between individuals,
the games are in fact, as is inter-nation
sport in
1963:
1963:
1966;
McIntosh,
89-93,
188-203;
Morton,
general (cf. Heinila,
an
arena
of
intense
Overall
team
between-polities
contesting.
esp. 65-103),
become sources of national pride and shame as countries vie with
performances
total performances.
one another for the prestige associated with high-ranking
If war can be, as it has, likened to a game (Avedon and Sutton-Smith,
1971:
271-303; Liddell Hart, 1971), the Olympic Games may be likened to a quadrennial war, with medals and team points and international
reputations rather
as
victor's
In
the
the
concern
will be with
than territory
the
spoils.
following
of these
some of the possible social structural
national
indicators,
correlates,
outcomes.
Game
Olympic
Perspective
Each Olympics brings with it new reports of heightened
international
conflicts and disputes (not to mention intranational
1960;
ones, e.g. Edwards,
of illegal
Kieran
and Daley, 1969: 410, 431, 433-435,
444): accusations
* An earlier version of this paper was prepared for the session on the Sociology of Sport,
AmericanSociologicalAssociation,Denver, September, 1971.
Support for this analysis has been provided by a Faculty Research Grant (08 518) from
the University of Victoria.

187
and the like; solicitations
of
financial aid, training
methods,
team
alternative
methods
for
and
since
1952,
scoring
performpolitical asylum;
ances (Kieran and Daley, 1969: 318, 382-383; Chester, 1968: 155) - a practice
rules at the insistence of the modern Games'
officially barred by international
1963:
de
Coubertin
founder,
93) in the 1890's.
(Morton,
subsidies

and

"incidents"
are legion. Among
The examples of such politically implicated
the better known:
Hitler's
to exploit the Games as a
1936: The "Nazi Olympics,"
attempt
1968: 82-91; Kieran
showcase
1971;
Chester,
(Mandell,
propaganda
and Daley, 1969: 153-181).
1.952 : Against U.S. opposition, the Soviet Union enters a team in the Summer
1963: 34-35, 79-91); the West
Games (Chester, 1968: 104; Morton,
a two-Chinas
and the IOC fear communist-inspired
demonstrations;
dispute (Kieran and Daley, 1969: 219-227, 232ff, 265jurisdictional
266, 231-232, 277). The Games end with P
claiming the "world
that
and
the
Soviet
of
athletes,
they had won more
asserting
superiority"
and
medals than any other country
Daley, 1969: 265-266;
(Kieran
the
actual
count
was
U.S.A. 41 Golds to
1963:
Morton,
85-86;
to
the
U.S.S.R.'s
total
medals
and
U.S.A.
75
U.S.S.R.'s
68).
23,
1956: The Suez invasion and the Hungarian
uprising are reflected in the
Games (Chester, 1968: 119-121 ), e.g. some Arab nation teams withdraw
in protest of the Suez actions (Kieran and Daley, 1969: 280-281).
These examples could easily be multiplied, including some involving actual
and Hungarian
physical violence, e.g. the free-for-all between the U.S.S.R.
1963: 87-88; Kieran and Daley, 1969:
water polo teams in 1956 (Morton,
such as
intricate
maneuvers
as well as those featuring
political
316-317),
the Tokyo Games in 1964 (pages 375-377); the Games in which
characterized
of unofficial,
the IOC was finally successful in their efforts to ban the tabulation
1968: 155).
national
Chester,
standings
(pages 318, 383-384;
point-based
Atkinson's
Albeit unsystematically
and without social-scientific
onlyrigor,
account of the 1968 Olympics,
somewhat-fictional
dramatically
captures the
conflict in his novel, The Games (1968:
essence and spirit of this international
esp. 5, 24, 123, 333-334, 342, 380-381, 383-384).
between individuals
(or
Although the Games are ostensibly competitions
teams in particular
this
is
belied
the
attention
sports),
by
given to the performance of their nationals by governments
and quasi-governmental
agencies as
well as the press and the public (Morton, 1963; McIntosh,
1963; Heinila, 1966,
and the citations therein). Whether financed via public appeal or state subsidy
or support, polities are both overtly and covertly concerned with the outcomes
as well as "the game within the games" which surrounds
of the Olympics the jockeying for site-selection and support.
Duncan (1962) has proposed a model of social order, originally formulated
and societies, which seems equally useful as an interpretive
for communities

188
Duncan argues that social
social order. Essentially,
scheme for international
order arises in, is sustained by, and is altered through the symbolic exchanges
ranked superiors,
of hierarchically
equals, and inferiors. In other words, a
central constituent of order, disorder, and change is a kind of "status-contesting,"
as members of the system attempt to maintain and/or alter their rank via the
of symbols. And a symbolic resource potentially available
strategic presentation
to members of the international
order is overall team Olympic Game performto be, in the language of gamesmanance. Thus, the concern of nation-states
(Potter, 1948; Ball,
ship, "one-up,"
thereby making their others "one-down"
and the references by Potter cited therein). Further,
given the
forthcoming,
this makes such
of sport in general, and the Olympics in particular,
popularity
both domestic and
readily meaningful to relevant constituencies,
performances
and distribua
useful
arena
for
the
production
foreign. The Olympics provide
international
of
successful
tion of the symbols
They become
status-contesting.
a stage where is played the drama of the politics of symbolic conflict (for a
1964).
basically domestic account of symbols and politics, see Edelman,
It would be a mistake, then, to dismiss the Olympics as "mere games," for
if ever knowable the extent is unknown they may serve as suralthough
conflict
of
international
destructive
for
more
other, possibly
types
rogates
much
losses
be
of
where
not
but
too,
greater
only gains
might
(Natan, 1958),
and
alternative
As
as
the
Games
exist
as
a
potential
magnitude.
long
Olympic
conflict, they are worthy of serious scientific
symbolic mode of between-nations
consideration.*
Such consideration
is, of course, contrary to the "spirit of the games" even
if consistent with a sociological concern with sport and politics. Thus, Avery
reiterated
the Olympic sentiment that
Brundage has programmatically
The Games are not, and must not become, a contest between nations which would
be entirely contrary to the spirit of the Olympic Movement and would surely lead to
disaster. For this reason there is no official score of nations and tables of points are really
misinformation because they are entirely inaccurate. To be correct they would have to
be weighted since it is certainly unfair to give the winner of the marathon or decathlon,
a winning gymnast, pistol shooter or yachtsman, and a winning football soccer or basketball team the same score. Moreover, the factor of population should be considered...
...Neither the Olympic Games nor any sport contest can be said to indicate the
superiority of one political system over another, of one country over another... The IOC
resents attempts to use the Games as a political instrument or to pit one country against
another. We trust that you will do everything in your power to discourage the publication
of scoring tables, which are quite worthless...
(Brundage, 1956: 35).
Problem
Noble as the sentiment
may be, that the claim by IOC officials that the
Games are not competitions
between nations but between individuals,
appears
of
false
is
to
who
have
followed
the
obvious
Olympics
(regardless
any
patently
* The writing of this predates, but is not superceeded by the terrorist attack at the 1972
Games in Munich.

189
the particular
media employed). Brundage himself, in calling attention to "the
factor of population"
both the
suggests otherwise. Thus, albeit paradoxically,
own qualification
a
official Games ideology and Brundage's
provide
point of
a
testable
by
suggesting
proposition.
departure
is this: indicators of national structural
In the null version the proposition
economic, and political, will bear no significant
variables, e.g. demographic,
to total national Olympic Game scores. Thus, unless there are
relationships
between the structure of nation-state
relationships
polities and the overall team
of their Olympic athletes, we may take the International
performance
Olympic
officials at their word regarding
the purity and apolitical nature of
Committee
the Games; that is, that they involve individual
not international
competition,
The null is the official position of the IOC; its rejecrivalries and competition.
tion is consistent with the perspective advanced in the citations and paragraphs
outcomes of
above, as well as a more general view predicting
systematic
Olympic contesting.
As caveats, two possible "exceptions
to the rule" of the proposition
(in its
null form) might be predicted:
one naive, the other somewhat
more socioThe first, the naive one, as noted by Brundage, would
logically sophisticated.
relate to sheer population
size. This would be a simple prediction that national
size would be directly related: i.e. that ceteris
Olympic success and population
paribus, the larger the population,
ergo the larger the pool of potential winners
in any event from which to select team-members
(cf. Brundage,
1956). The
second exception which might be expected would have to do with national
economic status: the "richer" the country, the better the team performance
vis-a-vis other national teams; this due to nutritional
availability
opportunities,
of facilities and coaching, et cetera,
and a host of wealth-related
variables too
numerous to catalogue (McIntosh,
1963: 134-160). In short, relations obtainin
null
contradiction
to
the
should
be based upon resources alone, i.e. the
ing
the
the
more
successful
the team but essentially because
resources,
greater
the presence of these resources, human and economic, increases the probability
of having successful individuals
( qua team-members).
Big and rich countries
should be more successful than little and poor nations just because they are big
and rich.
if the Game's establishment's
claims are correct, relationships
Otherwise,
should be few and unsystematic;
if they are wrong a pattern
of structural
should obtain between nations and their overall team scores in
relationships
the Olympic Games. Contrary to the proposition
it might
then, conservatively
be hypothesized
that there are systematic
between variables
relationships
indexical of the structure of national social, economic, and political arrangements and total national Olympic Game scores.
Method
The nation-state
polities fielding Olympic
indicators and sources of information
concerning

teams are many, as are the

their structural variation. The

190
at hand dictates recourse to comparative,
cross-national
analysis
problem
A
codified
source of such
Etzioni
and
DuBow, 1970).
major,
(Marsh, 1967;
data on the nations of the world is A Cross-Polity Survey, by Arthur
structural
on almost 60
S. Banks and Robert B. Textor, which compiles information
structural
variables for all of the world's "independent
polities... as of April 1,
1963" (Banks and Textor, 1963: v).
The indicators
employed by Banks and Textor are diverse, and include
and social characteristics;
economic
measures of population
size, composition,
indices; and political structure, styles, and behaviors. These measures are then
dichotomized
(see Chart 2) and run, each one against all others. The result is
a computer printout of all 2 X 2 tables each equal to or less than .10 in terms
of significance
level as determined
by the Fisher's Exact Test (for a more
see Banks
of
their
methods, e.g. coding, dichotomizing,
complete description
and Textor, 1963: 1-53; and for the sources and codes themselves, pages 54117). Consistent with their format, this analysis begins by running dichotomized
national scores for the 1964 Summer Games against the data coded in the
is ignored).
Cross-Polity Survey (however, the .10 level of acceptance/rejection
The 1964 Olympics were chosen for analysis since they were the Games closest
to the Banks and Textor cut-off date
of April, 1963, and would thus minimize
social change induced errors.
Scoring the Games
there have been two competing methods used in calculating
Traditionally
team scores, the North American
and the European.
The former
national
and
ten
for
a
first
five
one
for
points
assigns
place,
through
succeeding places
This method, which gives greater weight to first places, has
( 10-5-4-3-2-1 ) .
The European scheme (7-5-4-3-2-1)
been favored by U.S. Games-watchers.
has been endorsed by the Soviet Union (Menke, 1969: 738; Morton,
1963:
however, only three places are officially
86-87). In the Games themselves,
recognized through the awarding of medals : first = gold, second = silver, and
third = bronze. In this analysis a scoring method based upon awarded medals
on a basis of summating
the
only is followed. Team scores are calculated
following:
gold medal = 3 points, silver medal = 2 points, and a bronze
medal = 1 point (see Chart 1).
Since some of the Banks and Textor variables were originally coded on
more than two attributes, e.g. high, medium, and low, it is necessary to collapse
to make them
them, as did Banks and Textor themselves, into dichotomies
format.
with
the
Chart
indicates
these
relabelled
di2
congruent
Cross-Polity
chotomous variables constructed
from the Banks and Textor codes (these designations make cutting points apparent to anyone consulting the originals (pages
54-117).
The results of the extension of the Banks and Textor data are shown in
Table 1, where 55 dichotomous
and national
comparisons of team performance
indicators are presented.
Since some of these measures bear but dubious inde-

191
Chart 1
Nations aboveand belowmedianon 1964 summerOlympicgame Scores(scoresin parentheses)a

This is a sample (N = 36) of an original universe of 41 nations, the scores of which are
available in the press, and summarized in the World Almanacfor 1965, pages 182-183.
Scoring is for medal winning only: Gold = 3, Silver = 2, and Bronze = 1; this differs
from some systems which score for up to the first six places. Units in the universe but
excluded from the sample are (a) Bahamas and Kenya, information for which, i.e.
national indicators, are not available in Banks and Textor (1963), (b) Germany and
Korea, divided into two nations except in Olympic competition where a single team was
entered, and (c) Great Britain, a sub-unit of the United Kingdom. Scores, for informational
purposes, for these units were: Bahamas = 3, Germany = 87, Great Britain = 37,
Kenya = 1, and Korea = 5. For the sample the range of scores above the median is
188-10, and below the median it is 8-1.
b The host nation: Typically hosts are more successful, at least in part because of their
ability to enter larger than usual teams at relatively low financial expenditure.
to one another, it is not completely
to accept or reject
pendence
legitimate
of
one
versus
another
on
the
basis
of significance
particular
comparisons
finding
levels. It is, however, useful to look at the overall pattern of significant findings;
further this avoids the arbitrary
setting of levels by the writer, while leaving
readers free to make their own decisions (although
in the text, "significant"
will refer to values equal to or less than .05). Of the 55 tests, the cumulative
of those reaching the various (one tailed) levels - which under
percentages
of
are:
conditions
would be the expected proportions perfect independence
P value
Cum. %
(N/55)

< . 01 < . 05
9%
5

38%
21

47%
26

<,15

<.20

<.25

:5.30

53%
29

62%
34

71%
39

75%
41

:5.40 < . 50 > . 50

76%
42

84%
46

91%
50

100%
55

192
Chart 2
Names of attributes of indicators

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
I
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
211
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37

BottomRow

Top Row

Table
No.

(300,000 square miles or more)

(17,000,000 persons or more)
( 100/square mile or more)
(2% per year or more)
(20% of pop. in cities of 20,000 or
more; 12.5% in cities of 100,000
population or more)
High (34% or more)
High ($ 5,000,000,000 or more)
High ($ 600 and above)
High (U.N. assessment at least 0.25% of
total)
High (near self-sastaining growth rate or
better)
High (50% or more)
Complete (at least intermittently)
High (100 or more)
Substantially Christian
Homogeneous
High (90% or more either caucasoid,
mongoloid, or negroid)
High (85% or more have same native
tongue)
Through 1913
Historically (or significantly so and not
a former colony)
See Table 1
European (or derived, e.g., through colonization)
Advanced
Doctrinal and developmental
High mobilization of resources
Constitutional and authoritarian
High (stable since World War I)

High
High
High
High
High

Polyarchy (at least limited)

Competitive
Autonomous (at least partial)
High (re: integration, homogeneity, factionalism, etc.)
Extreme (sectional groups present and
active)
Significantly present
Significantly present
Significantly present
Frequent or occasional
Significant

Low
Low
Low
Low
Low

(less than 300,000 square miles)

(less than 17,000,000 persons)
(less than 100/square mile)
(less than 2% per year)
(less than 20% in cities of 20,000 or
more; less than 12.5% in cities of
100,000 population or more)
Low (less than 34%)
Low (less than $ 5,000,000,000)
Low (less than $ 600)
Low (less than 0.25% of total)
Low (not currently near being self-sustaining)
Low (less than 50%)
Absent (either internally or externally)
Low (less than 100)
Christianity not important
Heterogeneous
Low (less than 90% in any of three
categories)
Low (less than 85% has same native
tongue)
Since 1914
No (or partially through colonial domination)
See Table 1
Non-European (autochthonous, developed and non-developed tutelage)
Transitional
Conventional and traditional
Limited or non-mobilization of resources
Totalitarian
Low (limited or unstable since WWI or
before)
Non-polyarchic (or pseudo-polyarchic)
Non-competitive
Low autonomy
Low (re: integration and homogeneity;
high factionalism or opposition)
Low (sectional groups, if present, are less
active)
Less significant to absent
Less significant to absent
Less significant to absent
Infrequent or rare
Negligible

193
Chart 2 (continued)

Top Row

Table
No.

BottomRow

38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49

Significant
Significant
Significant
One-party (or one dominant)
Territorial, regional, or ethnic
High stability
Pronounced or moderate
Elitist
Pronounced to moderate
Federalistic forms
Significant
Presidential

50
51
52
53
54
55
56

Effective
Unicameral
Dominant or strong
Modern
Interventive or supportive
Politically significant
Civil or common (or combined)

57
58
59
60
611

Member (or quasi-member)

High (wants: needs ratio of satisfaction)
High rate of change
High (low stability)
Traditional and transitional

Limited
Limited or negligible
Limited or negligible
More than one party
Aggregative or class-based
Low stability or non-stable
Negligible or absent
Moderate or non-elitist
Negligible
Unitarian forms
Limited or negligible
Parliamentary, monarchial, or communist
Ineffective
Bicameral
Weak
Semi-modern or transitional
Neutral
Not significant
Other (e.g. Muslim, Scandanavian, Communist, mixed)
Non-member
Low (wants: needs ratio of satisfaction)
Low rate of change
Low (high stability)
Modern

In the aggregate these data suggest that the null form of the proposition
be rejected;
i.e. that which proposes that a relationship
between national
structural indicators and teams success does not exist. On the whole, these data
argue persuasively otherwise, e.g. with almost four of ten tests reaching the .05
level. Although the level of measurement
is admittedly
crude and independence
seems completely warranted
dubious, the rejection of the null of no relationship
of the findings. Thus, the exploration
of the positive
given the magnitude
correlates
of national
relationships
involving the structural
Olympic Games
success appears worthy of continued investigation.
Keeping in mind the problems of the data, it still seems worthwhile to examine some of the sub-sets and/or
findings as shown in Table 1, even if only descriptively.
particular
An overview

of the 2 X 2

The following

data

will, because

of their number,

but briefly describe

relation-

194
Table 1
Summaryof 2 x 2 analysesof national indicatorsand Olympicscores

195
Table 1 (continued)

Numbers 2-57 are equivalent to the "Raw Characteristic" variable numbers in A CrossPolity Surveyby A. S. Banks and R. B. Textor (Cambridge: The M.I.T. Press), 1963,
described in pages 54-117.
b Cutting points of the dichotomy were established
by visual inspection, using two criteria:
(a) the attempt to minimize marginal variation, and (b) to avoid violating logic and/or
theory, e.g., a coding of none versus some or much. These criteria are not always independently satisfiable.
c For names of attributes of national indicators
(labels of rows), see Chart 2.
d This measure reaches unity with a zero value in
any cell.
ships between the 55 various national indicators
and 1964 Summer Games team performance.

drawn

from Banks and Textor

Demography and Ecology

Neither size in area (2),* population
(3), nor population
density (4) are
related
to
team
thus
disconfirmation
of the
significantly
success;
providing
"naive caveat" mentioned
above. Population
rate
is
both
growth
(5), however,
and
related
to
national
team
significantly
negatively
performance.
In terms of population
composition,
high scores are associated with urbanization
(6, 7), a high rate of literacy (12), linguistic (18) and racial homo*

Numbers in parentheses refer to the "raw characteristic" variable numbers used by Banks
and Textor, and also appearing in the first column of Table 1. Because of space limitations, the reader is urged to consult the more complete description of the variables
available in their work (pages 54-117).

196
geneity (17), but not religious homogeneity
(16), although countries characterized by western as contrasted to non-western faiths (15) are the more successful in the Games. In sum, westernized
relatively homogeneous
polities, with
and high rates of literacy, are those for which
low population
growth-rates
where additionally
Games success may be predicted,
there is a high rate (14)
of newspaper circulation.
Economy
As expected, economic prosperity is strongly related to team performance.
A high gross national product, both nationally
(8) and on a per capita basis
financial
i.e.
status
size
of
assessment
for United Nations
international
(9),
(10),
a
and
economic
order
developed, self-sustaining
(11) all are positively
support,
associated with national Olympic success. Thus, the second
and significantly
"exception to the rule" is confirmed, i.e. successful nations in Olympic competition are those which can afford it.
The Polity
As the title would suggest, the Banks and Textor data weighs heavily tothe political system. Polities successful in Olymward variables characterizing
are
those
which
date their independence
prior to World War I
pic competition
the
older
established
nations
of
world.
i.e.
the
(read western)
(19),
is related to: being
In terms of political structure (20-32), high performance
western (20), being modernized
via European
influence (22) and
historically
in an advanced stage of this process (23) ; having an explicit doctrinal ideology
of resources, human and
(24) leading to a high degree of political mobilization
rather than a constitutional
otherwise (25); a totalitarian
authority
(26), but
one which is stably entrenched
(27). Further, neither degree nor form of re(28, 29), nor freedom of group opposition
(30) are significantly
presentation
related to national team performance,
though all three are negative in direction of association.
Finally, high political enculturation
(31), i.e. little or no
and so on, along with a lack of sectionalism
extreme opposition,
factionalism,
success. Structurally,
high performance
(32) are both related to Olympic
are
modernized
and
with extremely centralized
westernized,
governpolities
members.
ments and highly integrated
of the demands of
As regards political competition (33-43) : the articulation
institutional
interest groups (33) such as trade unions, industrial organizations;
within
the
non-associational
bureaucracy;
governmental
groups (34) e.g.
groups (35), for instance ethnic and religious blocs; and anomic groups (36),
those lacking organization
or structure over time; and political parties (37) all but the first are negatively related to team scores, only the non-associational
level. Similarly,
the presence of aggregated
constitgroups at a significant
whether the referent
uencies shows little association with Olympic performance,
is political parties (38), the executive (39), or the legislature
(40). Generally

197
constituencies
shows
then, both the success and size of various interest-group
little relationship
to Games scores, what there is more often being negative in
direction.
Three measures are devoted specifically to party systems (41-43). Quantitative aspects (41), e.g. one party, one-dominant,
and party
two, et cetera,
with
team
a
show
little
association
success.
Communiststability (43)
Having
dominated
party system (42) on the other hand, indicates a strong positive
with Olympic success.
relationship
Another dimension of the polity is the position of leaders. Personalismo,
the
a
for
to
follow
leader
for
reasons
tendency
partisans
non-ideological
(44) is
but
not
related
to
Game
as
is
scores,
negatively
significantly
leadership charisma (46) ; while elitist leader recruitment
is
both
(45)
positive and significant
in its association.
and national
Lastly, the question of political power forms and distributions
team success: in terms of vertical power distribution
(47), federalism is related
to low scores, unitary forms to high ones; horizontal
distributions
show no
A weak executive as contrasted
at all to team performance.
to
relationship
or Communist
legislatures,
parliaments,
systems (49) as well as Communist
Bloc membership
associated
with successful Olympic
(57) are significantly
current status of the legisteam scores. Finally, taken by themselves, neither
lature (50), executive
of the legislature
(52), nor the character
(51) or the
with
team
scores.
show
bureaucracy
(53)
particularly
strong relationships
in the polity (54), nor that
Neither do the possibilities of military involvement
of the police (55) or the character
of the legal system (56).
Summary
in Olympic competition
would appear,
Overall, the successful nation-state
in population,
in a kind of visual factor analysis, to be: stable and homogeneous
domestic political
literate, modern and western, with little institutionalized
characterized
economically
by a strong central
competition,
prosperous,
staffed by an elite, and probably
(<.05) a member of the Comgovernment
munist Bloc. Such is the summary portrait which emerges.
It should be remembered
that (1) these data are located in time; i.e. 1963
for national indicators, summer of 1964 for Olympic team scores; and (2) very
wasteful in terms of information
thrown away, i.e. by dichotomizing
variables
in many cases susceptible to more than nominal and/or ordinal measurement.
Not only Games scores, but several national indicators are capable of higher,
more sensitive levels of measurement,
which sacrifice less information.
Discussion
The frequency, directions, and magnitudes
of the Banks and Textor derived
strongly argue for the utility of using nations as units of analysis in the
the disclaimers
of
study of sport, politics, and Olympic Game competition;
data

198
If the Games may be surrogate for other forms of
the IOC to the contrary.
inter-nation
data
conflict, then the outcomes of such contests are important
about world order and disorder.
for the understanding
of, or prediction
The findings herein, although suggesting the validity of the problem, also
implicitly exert pressure toward a better quality of data and measurement.
indicators employed here and in Banks and Textor
Many of the dichotomized
studies are based upon continuous variables of interval and ratio levels. Having
the utility of the approach
demonstrated
herein, such data can, in the future,
be employed in more sensitive correlational
analyses.
and frequently
measure in crossFor example, an important
employed
societal research is Marsh's "Index of Societal Differentiation"
(Marsh, 1967:
this
measure
is
For
modern
nation-states
based
31-37, 329-374).
upon a
of males in... non-agricultural
combination
of "( 1 ) percentage
occupations,
in megawatt-hours
and (2) gross energy consumption
per capita for one year"
as "the number of structurally
distinct and
(page 332). It is conceptualized
functionally
specialized units in a society" (page 31). The range of the index
is from zero to a potential
of infinity, with the United States, at 109.4, the
current high reported by Marsh. For the 1964 Olympic Game nations reported
upon here, the low is Nigeria's 16.2, with a median of 41.35.
When the two medians, Marsh's index and team scores, are employed to
is high-high and
nations, the distribution
dichotomously
array the participating
low-low = 12 per cell, and high-low and low-high = 6 per cell. The Fisher's
is less than .05 and Yule's Q = .60. Such a strategy, howExact Probability
ever, throws away valuable information.
Since both Marsh's index and the Game score index have potential zero
seems justified
(also see Labovitz, 1970).
points, use of a Pearsonian correlation
The coefficient for these two variables is a relatively robust +.42 (r2 = .17),
between societal differentiation
and
indicating a reasonably strong relationship
team scores. Such a finding is implicit in the 2 X 2 dervied summary portrait
above.
Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that the key to understanding
national Olympic team scores is resources: possession and mobilization
ability.
Overall, Game success is related to the possession of resources, both human and
and authority
economic, and the centralized forms of political decision-making
which maximize their allocation. Such is the price of national Olympic success.
1956, above) has recently been
Olympic sentiment
(quoted in Brundage,
reiterated by the President of the 1972 Olympic Games Organizing
Committee,
i.e. that nations should not
attach too much importance to victories or yield to the erroneous belief that the Games
should serve as an instrument for politics or propaganda of any sort or as a criterion for
measuring the value of a political system (Herr Willie Daume, 1971).
neither historical
accounts nor sociological data, suggest the
Unfortunately,
Herr
Daume's
validity of
expression of faith. It could be argued that in an age
of nuclear stalemate that it is just as well that they don't. Until ways are found

199
conflict (see some of
to obviate and/or avoid international
et al., 1968; also McNeil, 1965), Olympic competition
may
to the several more lethal forms.* This
benign alternative
imply a cathartic function as regards sport and aggression
rather to hypothesize
about the Games in particular.
In
issue to address in future research.

the papers in Fried,

provide a relatively
is, of course, not to
more generally, but
any case, this is an

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