Abstract

This paper establishes a critical dialogue among three kinds of cross-national activities: translation, the Olympic Games, and international relations. All three activities involve interstate _amicitia_ —where _traduttore/traditore_ cannot be clearly distinguished, and where amity/enmity cannot be easily set apart. My discussion of the structural similarities among these three kinds of cross-national activities intersects with my examination of the historical connections of the Olympic Games to translation and international relations. The essay also seeks to shed new light on international relations via Translation Studies, and to demonstrate how international politics can be examined as the “politics of translation” in action. (solicited by the International Comparative Literature Association Committee on Translation)