Sustainable development, shock and awe? London 2012 and Civil Society

There is a disconnection between the top-down, elite, nature of sports mega-events and the ostensible redistributive and participatory sustainable development agendas staked out by BINGOs (Business-based International Non-Governmental Organizations) such as the contemporary International Olympic Committee (IOC). Focusing specifically on the London 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, we argue that, for all the environmental technology advances offered by sports mega-events, their dominant model remains one of a hollowed-out form of sustainable development. Despite significant technical and methodological innovations in environmental stewardship, the development model of the London Olympics remains predicated on the satisfaction of transnational investment flows. We discuss what this means for claims about the staging of a ‘green’ Olympic Games.

The Frenchness of Marcel Lefebvre and the Society of St Pius X:a new reading

The case of Marcel Lefebvre and the SSPX deserves fresh perspectives. The current historiography is too franco-centric, obsessed with relatively minor matters, rather than with more substantial ones. This article proposes a new analysis of the SSPX’s political discourses in France and internationally over the last fifteen years and undertakes to reframe the relationship between Lefebvre’s life and his congregation by re-examining his African missionary experiences. Such new perspectives will be helpful as the SSPX moves towards regularisation under the pontificate of Pope Francis.