US athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos standing on the podium at the 200m medal ceremony of the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, arms raised, fists clenched in a ‘Black Power’ salute; Nelson Mandela wearing a Springbok rugby jersey – previously a symbol of Apartheid – at the final of the 1995 South African Rugby World Cup, while presenting the Webb Ellis trophy to the South African captain Francois Pienaar; Jesse Owens winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, flying in the face of Hitler’s plan to demonstrate the sporting dominance of the ‘Aryan master race’.

All of these are historical examples of sport’s power to challenge an unjust status quo. In these instances, international sport provided a platform from which people could speak out against racism and racist systems of government. In South Africa, there was an international boycott of Apartheid sport: the International Olympic Committee banned South Africa from competing in the 1964 Summer Olympics, and excluded them from the Olympic movement in 1970; rugby and cricket boycotts exerted further pressure. This boosted global opposition to Apartheid, and further isolated South Africa, eventually forcing an end to the segregation.

Sport, then, can be a powerful tool for social change, especially internationally, where it can draw attention to the plight of the oppressed, unite people behind a common goal and change societies for the better.

It can, however, also be exploited for propaganda purposes, often in ways that obstruct social progress. Hitler knew this, and tried to make the 1936 Berlin Olympics a political stunt in support of his brand of fascism. Similarly, the ruling Communist Party of China attempted to use the 2008 Beijing Olympics – in which China topped the medal table – to shore up support at home, and also to project geopolitical power abroad. It seems to have worked – China remains as undemocratic as it was before the Beijing Olympics: in their 2014 report, Human Rights Watch called the Chinese government “an authoritarian one-party state”.

But can it ever be so simple? Is it really the case that some sporting events help while others hinder? Surely not. The media hype around the Olympics, for example, also focused attention on China’s unjust systems of government, its human rights abuses, and its curbs on freedom of expression. This resulted in some positive social changes: anthropologist and China expert Susan Brownell points to the legal reforms that came about after the Olympics, including the strengthening of intellectual property laws, and a law giving greater freedom to foreign journalists. She also explains the less tangible benefits of the Games, claiming it connected China more with the rest of the world, resulted in a greater national focus on government accountability (which arguably helped to uncover corruption in China’s football administration a few months after the Games ended), raised awareness about environmental damage, and, through the Paralympics, made people in China more conscious of the difficulties of living with a disability. The social impact of the Beijing Olympics is not well understood, but it was clearly not just a propaganda tool. Here, as elsewhere, sport unites more than it divides, challenging norms rather than accepting them.

Sport’s power to bring people together – spectators and athletes alike – regardless of religion, race, nationality, gender or sexual orientation, is undeniably positive. Of course, this power is open to misuse and abuse. It can even set groups of people against each other, and enforce discrimination – see, for example, the sexism, racism and homophobia that remain widespread in football.

This is why sportspeople and sporting institutions have a responsibility to ensure that sport always upholds the three Olympic values – Friendship, Respect and Excellence – along with the four Paralympic values – Determination, Inspiration, Courage and Equality. Oppressive states like the UAE, Russia and Azerbaijan cannot be allowed to host major sporting events, or purchase sporting assets in the West, without having their human rights records scrutinised. And if sport is to continue being a force for good, sporting elites run by apparent dictators such as the (currently suspended) FIFA president Sepp Blatter or F1’s Bernie Ecclestone have to be challenged and held to account.

Nevertheless, sport can be, and has been, a very effective way to bring about social and political progress, especially when more conventional means have failed. Thankfully, the Jesse Owenses in this world outnumber the Sepp Blatters, and long may that continue.