Simon Darnell - Sport for Development and Peace: A Critical Sociology

A Critical Sociology

Simon C. Darnell

BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC

Also in the Globalizing Sport Studies series:

Published:

Japanese Women and Sport
Robin Kietlinski

Global Media Sport
David Rowe

Forthcoming:

Globalizing Cricket
Dominic Malcolm

Localizing Global Sport for Development
Tess Kay, Davies Banda, Ruth Jeanes and Iain Lindsey

Global Boxing
Kath Woodward

Sport and Technology
Roslyn Kerr and Camilla Obel

First published in 2012 by

Bloomsbury Academic
an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London WC1B 3DP, UK
and
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA

Copyright Simon C. Darnell 2012

This work is published subject to a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licence.
You may share this work for non-commercial purposes only, provided you give attribution
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please contact Bloomsbury Academic.

CIP records for this book are available from the British Library and the
Library of Congress

ISBN 978-1-84966-344-1 (hardback)
ISBN 978-1-84966-591-9 (ebook)

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Cover design: Burge Agency

T here is now a considerable amount of expertise nationally and internationally in the social scientific and cultural analysis of sport in relation to the economy and society more generally. Contemporary research topics, such as sport and social justice, science and technology and sport, global social movements and sport, sports mega-events, sports participation and engagement and the role of sport in social development, suggest that sport and social relations need to be understood in non-Western developing economies as well as European, North American and other advanced capitalist societies. The current high global visibility of sport makes this an excellent time to launch a major new book series that takes sport seriously and makes this research accessible to a wide readership.

The series Globalizing Sport Studies is thus in line with a massive growth of academic expertise, research output and public interest in sport worldwide. At the same time, it seeks to use the latest developments in technology and the economics of publishing to reflect the most innovative research into sport in society currently underway in the world. The series is multi-disciplinary, although primarily based on the social sciences and cultural studies approaches to sport.

The broad aims of the series are to: act as a knowledge hub for social scientific and cultural studies research in sport, including, but not exclusively, anthropological, economic, geographic, historical, political science and sociological studies; contribute to the expanding field of research on sport in society in the United Kingdom and internationally by focussing on sport at regional, national and international levels; create a series for both senior and more junior researchers that will become synonymous with cutting-edge research, scholarly opportunities and academic development; promote innovative discipline-based, multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinary theoretical and methodological approaches to researching sport in society; provide an English-language outlet for high quality non-English writing on sport in society; and publish broad overviews, original empirical research studies and classic studies from non-English sources, and thus attempt to realise the potential for globalizing sport studies through open content licensing with Creative Commons.

Sport (broadly defined to encompass physical activity, physical education and even physical culture) has increasingly been seen as having a role to play in contributing to the resolution of enduring societal problems, especially in the Global South or developing world. In 2003, the United Nations (UN) adopted resolution 58/5, which formally recognized the contributions that sport can make to meeting international development goals, and followed this with the international Year of Sport and Physical Education in 2005. Sport has since gained both international recognition and political traction within development initiatives, notably the United Nations millennium development goals that seek, for example, to eradicate extreme poverty and achieve sustainable gender equality particularly in the Global South by 2015. There are currently dozens of sport-based international development programmes and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) listed on the International Platform for Sport and Development, and organizations like Right to Play enjoy a strong international profile and support from government, multinational corporations and celebrity athletes.

Sport for Development and Peace: A Critical Sociology brings a sociological view to bear on such initiatives and the momentum behind sport for development and peace (SDP). Simon Darnell does not seek to discredit or, as he says, derail SDP, the related notion of sport-for-development (SFD), or any of the contributions that sport might make in meeting development goals, but rather raises critical questions about the political and social implications of SDP. The book considers the institutionalized relationship between sport and international development by using insights drawn from critical sport sociology and critical development studies.

, Darnell argues for a commitment to solidarity with marginalized people as preferable to the discourse of empowerment that aligns with, and is susceptible to, the hegemony of neoliberal development philosophy.

Darnell suggests that those interested in SFD and SDP need to consider the implications of linking sport to the development paradigm and asks questions such as who are the targets of SDP, what kind of world view is championed through SDP, and what inequalities exist and how does SDP respond?

Sport for development and peace, sport-for-development and associated slogans have risen in popularity in the past 20 years; this is the first coherent book-length attempt to understand some of the implications, assumptions and ideologies underpinning these developments.

T his book came into existence in large part through the support I received from the following people.

Bob Sparks and Brian Wilson at the University of British Columbia first introduced me to the role of the cultural researcher and intellectual and to methods for thoughtful and cogent social analysis. Their lessons have stayed with me to this day. Peter Donnelly and Bruce Kidd at the University of Toronto facilitated my grounding in the critical study of sport, policy and the public good. Sherene Razack from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education moved me towards post-colonial theory and studies of Whiteness by modelling her thorough and rigorous critique. Special mention is owed to Margaret MacNeill who not only supervised my doctoral research but also consistently supported my scholarly ambitions and confidence. During my time as a postdoctoral researcher at Dalhousie University, David Black and Owen Willis helped to confirm for me the importance and legitimacy of studying sport and its place in social and political life. Finally, John Horne showed interest and faith in this project through its various stages. His editorial guidance, and the feedback of anonymous reviewers, proved essential.