Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe

Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe
Author: Ekain Rojo-Labaien
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2020-05-04
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000065979

This book examines the political significance of sport and its importance for nation-state building and political and economic transition across thirteen post-Soviet and post-socialist countries, primarily located in Eastern Europe. Adopting a critical case-study approach, building on historical and comparative frameworks, the book uses sport as a symbolic lens through which to examine the transition of Eastern European countries to the Western capitalist system. Covering a wide geographical area, from Poland to the Caucuses and Turkmenistan, it explores key themes such as nationalism, governance, power relations, political ideology, separatism, commercialisation and economic development, and the symbolic value of mega-events. Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport policy, the politics of sport or political science.

Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe

Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe
Author: Ekain Rojo-Labaien
Publisher: Routledge Research in Sport Politics and Policy
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2021-11-16
Genre: SPORTS & RECREATION
ISBN: 9780367500436

This book examines the political significance of sport and its importance for nation-state building and political and economic transition across thirteen post-Soviet and post-socialist countries, primarily located in Eastern Europe. Adopting a critical case-study approach, building on historical and comparative frameworks, the book uses sport as a symbolic lens through which to examine the transition of Eastern European countries to the Western capitalist system. Covering a wide geographical area, from Poland to the Caucuses and Turkmenistan, it explores key themes such as nationalism, governance, power relations, political ideology, separatism, commercialisation and economic development, and the symbolic value of mega-events. Sport, Statehood and Transition in Europe is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport policy, the politics of sport or political science.

The Sport Mega-Events of the 2020s

The Sport Mega-Events of the 2020s
Author: Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2023-10-31
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1000994155

This book explores various social, cultural, political and economic issues through the lenses of various sport mega-events in the twenty-first century, including the Olympic Games, and the World Cup and European Championships in football. In a time where sport mega-events are closely followed by controversies, legacy discourses and questions of their governance, the chapters within this book showcase why sport mega-events continue to ignite important questions for scholars, commentators, fans and sport and political authorities. By covering various topics emerging around sport mega-events such as physical activity, legacies, rhetoric, media coverage, environmental impacts, diplomacy and spectators' experiences, this book breaks new ground as it considers a range of longstanding and emerging socio-political issues relating broadly to the staging of spectacular sport mega-events in the present-day. This is a fascinating reading for students and researchers situated in sociology, sport management, event management, political science, sport studies, sport business, urban studies and leisure studies. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

The Neutrality Paradox in Sport

The Neutrality Paradox in Sport
Author: Hans Erik Næss
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2022-10-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3031156803

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, sanctions were implemented that banned Russia from most international sports. As a result, sport governing bodies (SGBs) have made a marked shift in their tradition of neutrality, to a point of no return. In light of this, this book asks what is next for SGBs. It provides an analysis of the root problem that sport governing bodies have had with politics since their inception: a paradoxical treatment of neutrality. This can be evidenced by their awarding of Mega-Sport Events to authoritarian states and also through the SGBs’ own desire to make a difference by promoting human rights and sustainable development. Good or bad, the author argues that their neutrality principles are invalidated by their actions. Offering interdisciplinary research with empirical examples, this issue is explored in an engaging, yet analytical way, making it valuable reading for researchers and students interested in sport management, for organisations and also policy makers. This book presents a pioneering study of neutrality and autonomy in sport in light of the Ukraine crisis, and addresses a growing appetite in academia on how sport governing bodies will reconcile their commitments to societal progress, whilst maintaining neutrality.

Sports Policy and Politics in the Western Balkans

Sports Policy and Politics in the Western Balkans
Author: Marko Begović
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2024-02-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1003845983

This book examines how states in the post-socialist Western Balkans region have used sport as a policy tool, and how sport in the region has been shaped by politics, history, and culture. Looking closely at the intersection of sports policy and politics in the countries of Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, this book explores the roles of sport in nation-building and how sport has been used by regimes looking to establish political legitimacy in the transition from the post-socialist era. It offers a fascinating insight into the way that sport has been co-opted for political purposes, and into the complexities of formulating sports policy and wider public policy in societies in which governance structures may be weak and in which clientelism, corruption, and partisanship pose constant challenges. This book is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in the history and politics of sport, in public policy, or in the history, politics, and culture of the former Yugoslav countries.

Transnational Actors in Central and East European Transitions

Transnational Actors in Central and East European Transitions
Author: Mitchell Alexander Orenstein
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre
Total Pages: 276
Release: 2008-07-06
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9780822973447

When Vladimir Putin claimed "outside forces" were at work during the Ukrainian Orange Revolution of 2004, it was not just a case of paranoia. In this uprising against election fraud, protesters had been trained in political organization and nonviolent resistance by a Western-financed democracy building coalition. Putin's accusations were more than just a call to xenophobic impulses-they were a testament to the pervasive influence of transnational actors in the shaping of postcommunist countries.Despite this, the role of transnational actors has been downplayed or dismissed by many theorists. Realists maintain that only powerful states assert major influence, while others argue that transnational actors affect only rhetoric, not policy outcomes. The editors of this volume contend that transnational actors have exerted a powerful influence in postcommunist transitions. They demonstrate that transitions to democracy, capitalism, and nation-statehood, which scholars thought were likely to undermine one another, were facilitated by the integration of Central and East European states into an international system of complex interdependence. Transnational actors turn out to be the "dark matter" that held the various aspects of the transition together. Transnational actors include international governmental and nongovernmental organizations, corporations, banks, foundations, religious groups, and activist networks, among others. The European Union is the most visible transnational actor in the region, but there are many others, including the OSCE, NATO, Council of Europe, the Catholic Church, and the Soros Foundation. Transnational Actors in Central and East European Transitions assembles leading scholars to debate the role and impact of transnational actors and presents a promising new research program for the study of this rapidly transforming region.

More Than Sport: Soft Power and Potemkinism in the 2018 Men's Football World Cup in Russia

More Than Sport: Soft Power and Potemkinism in the 2018 Men's Football World Cup in Russia
Author: Sven Daniel Wolfe
Publisher: LIT Verlag Münster
Total Pages:
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 3643803702

This book explores the 2018 Men's Football World Cup in Russia through a comparison of the host cities of Ekaterinburg and Volgograd - two major but peripheral cities little discussed outside of Russia. It unpacks the World Cup at multiple scales of analysis, from global political economic processes, Russian national state spatial strategies, uneven municipal developments, the creation and distribution of soft power narratives to the domestic audience, and varieties of adoption or refusal of those narratives among host city residents. In so doing, the book offers a light and revisable framework for understanding mega-events regardless of national context.

The Oxford Handbook of Governance

The Oxford Handbook of Governance
Author: David Levi-Faur
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 828
Release: 2012-03-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199560536

This Oxford Handbook will be the definitive study of governance for years to come. 'Governance' has become one of the most popular terms in contemporary political science; this Handbook explores the full range of meaning and application of the concept and its use in a number of research fields.