Julie Demeslay

Bio: Julie Demeslay is an academic researcher. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 3 citations.

Power relationships between the WADA and NADOs and their effects on anti-doping

Abstract: We propose to apply sociological theories focusing on power and domination, with the twofold objective of advancing sociological research and bettering the understanding of the reality of anti-doping. Ethnographic studies conducted in eight countries have allowed us to compile heterogeneous data based on official documents from institutions, semi-structured interviews and observations in the field. Firstly, the study showed that NADOs had little decision-making power within WADA, besides giving feedback on the consultation processes. Secondly, decisions made by the latter were not always viewed positively, as they were seen as arbitrary and did not reflect NADOs’ opinions and priorities. Furthermore, WADA developed assessment procedures focused on NADOs’ activities and prioritizing short-term effects. As a result, we have perceived a decrease in the adoption of innovative solutions for local problems and the omission of several national realities due to the long chain of delegation existing between decision-making arenas and the implementation of procedures in the field. Finally, the study reveals the dissatisfaction or even disengagement that exists among NADO representatives. We argue that compliance has become the primary objective for some NADOs, which could result in prioritizing actions that are valued and recognised by WADA, thus hindering the development of anti-doping programs adapted to their local realities, or even evading anti-doping procedures.

L’emprise comme expérience. enquêtes pragmatiques et théories du pouvoir

Abstract: Longtemps, la sociologie pragmatique a considere qu’elle ne pouvait rien enoncer sur les jeux de pouvoir. Une de ses regles de methode exigeait de s’en remettre aux acteurs eux-memes des lors qu’ils entreprennent de devoiler, au fil de polemiques et de proces, des figures du pouvoir ou de la domination. En s’appuyant sur de nombreux dossiers l’article montre comment inflechir l’enquete pragmatique pour apprehender autrement la critique des rapports de pouvoir, dont le degre de visibilite publique depend de la trajectoire suivie par des acteurs pris dans une logique de crise ou de conflit. Les ressorts principaux d’une emprise reussie et sur lesquels porte tout travail de deprise sont tour a tour exposes : imperatif de justification, entretien d’un besoin de reconnaissance, controle des instruments d’evaluation, production d’un echange inegal invisible.

’There’s a new sheriff in town’: the Rodchenkov Act, anti-dopism, and the hegemony of WADA in international sport

Abstract: Abstract The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has long been the organization responsible for making and harmonizing anti-doping policies in international sport. As the Rodchenkov Act was signed into law in the United States, however, it became possible for the U.S. to target organizers of systematic doping with criminal penalties even outside their national borders, and in doing so also pose a challenge to WADA’s hegemony over the anti-doping narrative. Drawing on official organizational statements and those made by sport stakeholders in media coverage, this article uses the implementation of the Rodchenkov Act as a case study to dissect and analyze the interdependence between national and international anti-doping policy/laws. The analysis shows how the U.S., through the Rodchenkov Act, is pushing the accepted anti-doping paradigm to an extreme and engaging in a form of resistance against WADA’s hegemony. By extending its own authority and abilities beyond its national borders and applying tougher sanctions on doping conspirators, the U.S./USADA position themselves as being the party strong enough to lead and shape the anti-doping regime. In effect, they are grabbing power from WADA and dislocating its hegemony in the process. Even as it reordered its national values above global sport values, it was able to leverage anti-dopism in service of its own goals of authority.

Extraterritoriality of the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act and Its Impact on the Anti-Doping Regulatory System

Abstract: The paper examines the Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act (Rodchenkov Act) and its impact on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA has a dominant status in the field of anti-doping regulation in sport and builds relationships with other actors in sport based on a hierarchy. Maintaining WADA’s status as the primary regulator and coordinator of anti-doping activities in sport appears necessary for the further effective development of anti-doping policy and maintaining parity between States in matters of anti-doping activities. However, extraterritorial application of the Rodchenkov Act challenges WADA’s position as the universal and exclusive entity responsible for coordinating the fight against doping in sport, and, therefore, this poses threats to the harmonized governance model of the anti-doping system by States. The paper examines the legal aspects of the Rodchenkov Act, its impact on the anti-doping regulatory system and the feasibility of introducing the extra-territorial principle of operation. The authors also analyze the first investigation under the Rodchenkov Act carried out in 2022 and the future prospects of its application. The authors focus on examination of permissibility of extraterritorial provisions of the Rodchenkov Act and the possible implications for the anti-doping system if the Rodchenkov Act is applied extraterritorially.