The History and Politics of Sport-for-Development


Book Description

This book focuses on the major social and political forces that have shaped the ways in which sport has been understood, organized, and contested in an effort to engender social change. Integrating the history of international development with the history of modern sport, the authors examine the underpinnings of sport-for-development from the mid-19th through the early 21st centuries. Including both archival research and extensive interviews with more than 15 individuals who were central to the institutions and movements that shaped sport as a force for development, this book will be of particular interest to the growing number of scholars, students, practitioners, advocates and activists interested in the possibilities and limitations of sport-for-development.




Sport for Development and Peace


Book Description

Sport has the incredible power to positively influence the world, and it is with this in mind that the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) has seen tremendous growth over the years. Sport can strengthen social ties, advance human rights, aid economic development, promote inclusion, and more. In Sport for Development and Peace: Foundations and Applications, internationally-recognized SDP experts offer their insights, perspectives, and experiences on a range of topics within the field. The first part of the text focuses on the foundations of SDP, addressing its history, sociological aspects, specific goals—such as development, inclusion, sport participation, and conflict resolution—and political and economic implications. It closes with an evaluation and assessment of SDP programs. The second part examines the application of SDP by providing examples and insights into government involvement in SDP, not-for-profit organizations, and corporate and for-profit enterprises. Finally, the book concludes with a discussion of current trends and future implications of SDP. Written for current and future SDP managers, developers, and administrators, from the student to the professional, Sport for Development and Peace offers a comprehensive look at the many substantive and interconnected SDP topics in order to positively impact this fast-growing field.




The Politics of Sports Development


Book Description

This text traces the evolution of sports development in the UK in the context of broader shifts in sport and social policy. It explores the emergence of sports development from the early years of public policy for sport in the 1960s to the contemporary era. This analysis is set against a background of policy initiatives, from 'Sport For All', 'Action Sport' and CCT, to the National Lottery and the contemporary emphasis on sport as a factor in the social and cultural well-being of the nation. Incorporating original material from major case studies and the national governing bodies of hockey, rowing, rugby union and tennis, the book examines the reality of "doing sports development" within this changing social and political policy climate.




Sport for Development and Peace


Book Description

Sport and International Development offers a critical sociological analysis of the emerging Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) movement. The book addresses a gap in the literature by focusing on the social and political implications of sport on development. It is a timely and important addition to the series.




Race, Sport and Politics


Book Description

Written by one of the leading international authorities on the sociology of race and sport, this is the first book to address sport′s role in ′the making of race′, the place of sport within black diasporic struggles for freedom and equality, and the contested location of sport in relation to the politics of recognition within contemporary multicultural societies. Race, Sport and Politics shows how, during the first decades of the twentieth century, the idea of ′the natural black athlete′ was invented in order to make sense of and curtail the political impact and cultural achievements of black sportswomen and men. More recently, ′the black athlete′ as sign has become a highly commodified object within contemporary hyper-commercialized sports-media culture thus limiting the transformative potential of critically conscious black athleticism to re-imagine what it means to be both black and human in the twenty-first century. Race, Sport and Politics will be of interest to students and scholars in sociology of culture and sport, the sociology of race and diaspora studies, postcolonial theory, cultural theory and cultural studies.




Sport Development and Olympic Studies


Book Description

In 2017 the Olympic Studies Centre of the German Sport University organized a workshop on Sport Development and Olympic Studies. This book resulted from the presentations and discussions they engendered around identifying new international collaborative research fields and deepening research on the Olympics, the Olympic Movement and sport development. The effective application of the hermeneutical method unifies the chapters. The interpretive strengths of this method sharpen the analytical perspective of the chapters, with the strict requirements for the use of primary sources meaning that the contributors have conducted extensive archival research. Assuring thematic coherence, the studies assembled for this book focus on the analysis of processes of continuity, transformation, and development across four areas: sport institutions and their policies; commissions within and policies of governing bodies of sports; legacy discussions; and sport events within the summer and winter Olympic Games transformed into political and cultural spectacles. Bringing together experts in the field, Sport Development and Olympic Studies will be of great use to scholars of Sport Development, Sport History, The Olympics and Sport Sociology. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.




Sport, Politics and Society in the Arab World


Book Description

This book explores the significance of sport in the understanding of past and current societal dynamics in the Arab world. It examines sport in relation to cultural, political and economic changes in the Arab World, including nation-state building, the formation of national identity and international relations in post-colonial context.




Nation at Play


Book Description

Reaching as far back as ancient times, Ronojoy Sen pairs a novel history of India's engagement with sport and a probing analysis of its cultural and political development under monarchy and colonialism, and as an independent nation. Some sports that originated in India have fallen out of favor, while others, such as cricket, have been adopted and made wholly India's own. Sen's innovative project casts sport less as a natural expression of human competition than as an instructive practice reflecting a unique play with power, morality, aesthetics, identity, and money. Sen follows the transformation of sport from an elite, kingly pastime to a national obsession tied to colonialism, nationalism, and free market liberalization. He pays special attention to two modern phenomena: the dominance of cricket in the Indian consciousness and the chronic failure of a billion-strong nation to compete successfully in international sporting competitions, such as the Olympics. Innovatively incorporating examples from popular media and other unconventional sources, Sen not only captures the political nature of sport in India but also reveals the patterns of patronage, clientage, and institutionalization that have bound this diverse nation together for centuries.




Sport, Politics and Society In the Middle East


Book Description

Sport in the Middle East has become a major issue in global affairs. The contributors to this timely volume discuss the intersection of political and cultural processes related to sport in the region. Eleven chapters trace the historical institutionalization of sport and the role it has played in negotiating "Western" culture. Sport is found to be a contested terrain where struggles are being fought over the inclusion of women, over competing definitions of national identity, over preserving social memory, and over press freedom. Also discussed are the implications of mega-sporting events for host countries, and how both elite sport policies and sports industries in the region are being shaped. Sport, Politics and Society in the Middle East draws on academic disciplines from the humanities and social sciences to offer in-depth, theoretically grounded, and richly empirical case studies. It employs diverse research methodologies, from ethnography and in-depth interviews to archival research, to make a lasting contribution to this critical subject.




Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics


Book Description

Sport is frequently considered to be an aspect of popular culture that is, or should be, untainted by the political. However, there is a broad consensus among academics that sport is often at the heart of the political and the political is often central to sport. From the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany to the civil unrest that preceded the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, sport and politics have remained symbiotic bedfellows. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics goes further than any other book in surveying the complex, embedded relationships between sport and politics. With sections addressing ideologies, nation and statehood, corporate politics, political activism, social justice, and the politics of sports events, it introduces the conceptual foundations that underpin our understanding of the sport-politics nexus and examines emergent issues in this field of study. Including in-depth case studies from North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, this is an essential reference for anybody with an interest in the social scientific study of sport.