As the Winter Olympics kick off in northern Italy, geopolitical tensions are palpable. From unconventional protests against the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to heated debates on Russia’s ostensible ban from competing, international politics is puncturing the veneer of global sportsmanship associated with the Games.

Of course, political realities have never been fully suspended at the Olympics. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, consider the 1936 Winter Games—which, according to Paul Hockenos, “offer an even more dramatic vantage point on Nazi ideology” than Germany’s better-known Summer Olympics that year. Or recall the U.S.-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games and the human rights-based criticism of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

As the Winter Olympics kick off in northern Italy, geopolitical tensions are........

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