PERSPECTIVE article
Front. Sports Act. Living
Sec. Sports Politics, Policy and Law
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fspor.2025.1683697
Bioethics and the Soft Power of Sport: A Contemporary Perspective
Provisionally accepted
- 1Riga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia
- 2Rigas Stradina universitates Socialo zinatnu fakultate, Riga, Latvia
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This article offers a perspective on the political dimensions of bioethics within elite sport, particularly regarding the regulation of performance-enhancing methods. Drawing from historical and contemporary examples, it suggests that bioethical decision-making in sport is often influenced by geopolitical agendas, institutional power relations, and national interests. Focusing on the World Anti-Doping Agency's regulatory process, the article argues that scientific assessments may be shaped or delayed by stakeholder lobbying, soft power strategies, and disparities in global access to biomedical innovation. Rather than providing a comprehensive review, this article reflects the author's viewpoint on how bioethics operates within contested frameworks of legitimacy, equity, and global influence. It concludes that recognizing bioethics as politically embedded is crucial for fostering fairer, more transparent, and globally representative governance in sport.
Keywords: bioethics in sport, Ethics of enhancement, Global sport governance, performance-enhancing methods, Political lobbying, soft power of sport, Sports ethics
Received: 11 Aug 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kamenecka-Usova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Marina Kamenecka-Usova, marina.kamenecka-usova@rsu.lv
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.