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.

In Whats My Name, Fool? sports writer Dave Zirin shows how sports express the worst - and at times the most creative, exciting, and political - features of our society. Zirins sharp and insightful commentary on the personalities, politics, and history of American sports is unlike any sports writing being done today. Zirin explores how NBA brawls highlight tensions beyond the arena, how the bold stances taken by sports unions can chart a path for the entire labor movement, and the unexplored political stirrings of a new generation of athletes who are no longer content to just ''play one game at a time.'' Whats My Name, Fool? draws on original interviews with former heavyweight champ George Foreman, Olympic athlete John Carlos, NBA player and anti-death penalty activist Etan Thomas, antiwar womens college hoopster Toni Smith, Olympic Project for Human Rights leader Lee Evans and many others. It also unearths a history of athletes ranging from Jackie Robinson to Muhammad Ali to Billie Jean King, who charted a new course through their athletic ability and their outspoken views.

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.

This comprehensive, practical text examines both the overarching foundations and functional applications of Sport for Development and Peace, using managerial, sociological, historical, political, and other multidisciplinary frameworks.

This volume is part of the early systematic inquiry into the analysis of sport as a developmental device. The book features an international roster of global experts. The chapters represent three groups: theory and philosophy, empirical research in 'on-the-ground' case studies, and those using circumspection to construct cases regarding evaluation.

This book provides the first detailed history of one of the most powerful international sport organisations, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since 2019 known as World Athletics. The book critically assesses the internal power relations within the IAAF by focusing on the IAAF leadership. Based on extensive archival research, Power and Politics in World Athletics offers a nuanced analysis of the institutionalised strategies that developed as a reflection of the IAAF’s interests and aims to create a broader understanding of the global sport system. With only six presidents in over a century of existence, the IAAF’s leaders had profound impacts on other international institutions, national stakeholders and sporting participants. Through four sections, the book identifies various key turning points in the history of the governing body of athletics, and explores the IAAF’s foundation, the policies of past IAAF presidents, and controversial issues such as doping, corruption and manipulation through a socio-historical lens. The book shows that while anyone could take part in athletics, policies enacted by each president served to ostracize those groups who did not fit into the IAAF’s vision of an equal playing field. This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in sport history, sport sociology, the politics of sport, sport management, sport governance, or international organisations.

This progressive and broad-ranging handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the complex intersections between politics, gender, sport and physical activity, shining new light on the significance of gender, sport and physical activity in wider society. Featuring contributions from leading and emerging researchers from around the world, the book makes the case that gender studies and critical thinking around gender are of particular importance in an era of increasingly intolerant populist politics. It examines important long-term as well as emerging themes, such as recent generational shifts in attitudes to gender identity in sport and the socio-cultural expectations on men and women that have traditionally influenced and often disrupted their engagement with sport and physical activity, and explores a wide range of current issues in contemporary sport, from debates around the contested gender binary and sex verification, to the role of the media and social media, and the significance of gender in sport leadership, policy and decision-making. This book is an authoritative survey of the current state of play in research connecting gender, sport, physical activity and politics, and is an important contribution to both sport studies and gender studies. It is fascinating reading for any student, researcher, policy-maker or professional with an interest in sport, physical activity, social studies, public health or political science.

A riotously entertaining chronicle of larger-than-life sporting characters and dramatic contests, this is an alternative political history of the United States as seen through the games its people played. Replete with surprises for seasoned sports, it will also amaze anyone interested in history with the connections Zirin draws between politics and sports. A groundbreaking book, it looks at the history of sports in the US through the lens of politics and culture, and shows how athlete-rebels have used sports for social and political change.

This important new text address a range of issues central to understanding the character of sports development, from organisation and strategy within the public and volunatary sectors, to funding, networking and service evaluation.

This book explores the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP), putting Global South voices and perspectives at the centre of the analysis. Covering a wide range of thematic and methodological areas that inform existing and emerging discourses in SDP, it represents an unparalleled resource for researchers and practitioners working in this area. Arranged into geographical sections covering Africa, Asia, South America, North America and Oceania, the book presents original research in Global South countries or by Global South researchers and practitioners, sometimes in collaboration with colleagues from the Global North. It highlights practices and theories created, developed, interpreted and reinterpreted by people who belong to the communities where these sporting experiences have been taking place, and whose critical reflections and experiences have yet to gain attention in international academic and practitioner communities in the English language. The book presents the views of diverse stakeholders, programme participants, promoters, coaching staff, volunteers, researchers, teachers, lecturers and other actors that have been difficult to access for researchers who do not usually speak languages other than English. A landmark publication in the field of SDP, this book is essential reading for any advanced student, research, practitioner or policy-maker with an interest in the value of sport in international development.