The United States this week announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics in February, a move that was quickly followed by Australia, Britain and Canada.
Diplomacy is by its nature byzantine, and sometimes secretive as well. We’ll try to get to the bottom of what it all means.
What is a diplomatic boycott?
Those who remember the 1980s may think of an Olympic boycott as countries staying home, athletes and all. But the U.S. diplomatic boycott will preclude only government officials from attending. Typically, high-ranking officials from many countries attend the Games, which are among the biggest international gatherings outside of the United Nations and major summits.