Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/8/australia-joins-us-diplomatic-boycott-of-winter-olympics
After the US announced that they will be diplomatically boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, several other countries including Australia have also agreed to do the same. This comes after a number of human right abuses in China have come to light. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that this comes as Australia is struggling to reopen diplomatic discussions with China about the Human Rights Abuses. Beijing responded to Australia pulling out by adding tariffs to Australian imports into the country. China also responded by saying “no Australian officials had been invited to the Olympics” and “no one would care about whether they come or not”.
I think that the moves being made by the countries diplomatically boycotting are for good reason but I don’t feel this tactic is working. I think that this is a lose-lose situation because if the countries send their diplomats they are basically condoning what is going on right now in China, but if they don’t send them, it doesn’t seem like China really cares because the athletes are still permitted to attend. Although I know it would be heartbreaking for the athletes if they were not permitted to go, I feel like the only real way to get the point across is to boycott it altogether and not just half way.
This article relates back to the discussion we had in class about alliances. Alliances are based on what is best for them at the time the alliance is made. You can look at this situation as Australia is forming an alliance with the US and the other countries diplomatically boycotting the Olympics because it is what is best for the countries at the moment. When the winter olympics end in China, it is very possible that the alliance will break because it is no longer what is in the best interest of the countries so therefore they will go their separate ways.