During the Cold War, states found alternative means of warring with each other to meet foreign policy goals. Sports competitions, including the right to host events, transformed from celebratory competitions to surrogates for warfare. The battles to host the 1976, 1980, and 1984 Summer Olympics became highly symbolic opportunities for conflict as the two superpowers fought to prove who could provide a better Olympic experience. Using a framework of political theory, D'Agati explains the Soviet boycott of 1984 as the result of a complex series of events and policies that culminated in a strategic decision to not participate in Los Angeles. Original and comprehensive, The Cold War and the 1984 Olympic Games is a significant study for scholars of international relations, Soviet and US histories, sports studies, and anyone interested in the unique politics of the Olympic Games.

The Soviet boycott of the 1984 Olympic Games is explained as the result of a complex series of events and policies that culminated in a strategic decision to not participate in Los Angeles. Using IR framework, D'Agati developes and argues for the concept of surrogate wars as an alternative means for conflict between states.