Public Defence: Zohreh Abdollahkhani

Zohreh Abdollahkhani will defend her PhD degree in Humanities, Cultural and Educational Sciences. The thesis examines whether the International Olympic Committee (IOC) follows up on its goals for social sustainability.

05 May

Practical information

  • Date: 5 May 2026
  • Time: 10.00 - 15.00
  • Location: Bø, Room AO Vinje 6-103 and Zoom
  • Download calendar file
  • Organizer: Fakultet for humaniora, idretts- og utdanningsvitskap

    • Link to digital participation (Zoom).

    Meeting-ID: 630 3724 6797

    Password: 835710

    Programme

    10:00: Prøveforelesning

    12:00: Public defence: "A New Map, Same Old Route! A Critical Policy Analysis of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s Social Sustainability in the Aftermath of the Olympic Agendas"

    Assessment committee

    • First opponent: Professor Parissa Safai, York University
    • Second opponent: Dr. Daniela Heerdt, Centre for Sports and Human Rights
    • Administrator: Professor Richard Giulianotti, University of South-Eastern Norway

    Supervisors

    • Principal supervisor: Associated professor Bieke Gils, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
    • Co-supervisor: Professor Hans Erik Næss, Kristiania University of Applied Sciences

    Host of public defence: Head of department Anika Aakerøy Jordbru, University of South-Eastern Norway

Any questions?

Zohreh Abdollahkhani is defending her thesis for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway. Doktorgradskandidat

The doctoral work has been carried out at the Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science.

You are invited to follow the trial lecture and the public defence.

  • Link to dissertation will be updated

Summary

This thesis concludes that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) presents itself as a global leader in social sustainability. Yet, its policies primarily protect the organization rather than the people who are involved in, and affected by, sport. Through an analysis of official IOC policy documents, the study shows that key commitments to human rights, gender equality, and safeguarding are governed in ways that limit responsibility, weaken accountability, and avoid structural change. 

The central finding is that the IOC governs social sustainability by transforming complex social issues into narrow, manageable tasks. Human rights are largely treated as matters linked mainly to the staging of the Olympic Games, rather than as ongoing human rights violations across the Olympic Movement. Gender equality is mainly reduced to visible indicators, such as participation numbers and targets, while deeper inequalities in power and decision making remain untouched. Safeguarding is constituted as a matter of prevention, primarily through education, rather than as an obligation to assign responsibility and ensure remedies for those who are left unsafeguarded. 

These governing patterns have critical consequences. They enable the IOC to claim alignment with global frameworks, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), while leaving significant gaps in protection, remedy, and accountability. The findings indicate that the IOC’s sustainability policies function more as tools of reputation management than as mechanisms for meaningful social change. 

This thesis contributes new knowledge by demonstrating that sport policies do not merely respond to pre‑existing problems. Instead, they play an active role in shaping what comes to be recognized as a problem, and which solutions are considered actionable or appropriate. For sport governing bodies, the findings point to the need to move beyond broad commitments and symbolic indicators, and towards clearer accountability for the long‑term social consequences of their policies.