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 in International Politics

Sports in International Politics
Author: Timothy D. Sisk
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2024-04-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1538187124

Sports have historically been part of a broader quest of regimes for prestige on the world stage, but also to project hegemony and power in an anarchic international system. While such historical trends of politicization of sports continue—witness the nationalism on display at each Olympic Games—today sports are equally seen as a strategic key for advancing human rights, building peace, strengthening social cohesion, and fostering development. International sports reside between a “realist” world of power and profit while simultaneously becoming an instrument of liberal internationalism that sees the advancement of individual values of rights, gender equality, and empowerment of often marginalized groups such as indigenous peoples, traumatized war victims, and those with disabilities. Sports in International Politics explores the complex linkages among power politics in the international arena, the profit-seeking, often elitist and at-times corrupt world of professional international sports, and the promise for harnessing sports to promote human rights, inclusive development, and sustainable peace in a violent world. Timothy D. Sisk shows that sport’s direct relationship to peace is found in sport- and play-related contributions to humanitarian action, expanding the right to access sport and the rights of athletes of all ages and abilities, and in the well-designed employment of sports in youth-based development and peacebuilding programs and projects. Sport’s contribution to peace is found from the bottom up through sport’s contribution to positive youth development, empathy, and fairness, and through engendering trust and social cohesion at community and national levels.

Race Neutrality

Race Neutrality
Author: Samuel L. Myers
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0739185624

There are wide racial disparities in virtually every sphere of economic life. African American workers earn less than whites. They are more likely to be denied loans than whites. Minority-owned businesses are less likely to win lucrative bids on state and federal contracts than are white male owned businesses. Black children are more likely than whites to be reported to child protective services for neglect or abuse. There are even huge disparities in downing rates between blacks and whites. What to do about these disparities? There is a fundamental disagreement about the appropriate remedies to these varied indicators of racial inequality. Part of the disagreement stems from differences in public perceptions about the underlying causes of the inequality. But, another form of disagreement relates to the opposition to the remedy of choice during much of the 1970s and 1980s: Affirmative Action. Race conscious remedies -- like affirmative action policies in hiring, college admissions, and business contracting -- suffer from legal and constitutional challenges, compounded by hostility from the majority of Americans. The alternative – race-neutral remedies – attempt to address racial disparities without directly targeting benefits exclusively to racial minority group members. In doing so, race-neutral remedies putatively help minorities without hurting majority group members. The authors of Race Neutrality: Rationalizing Remedies to Racial Inequality make the case that policy analysts should shift from a focus on whether a remedy is race-conscious or not to a focus on the underlying problem that the alternative remedies is attempting to resolve. This type of rethinking of the problem of racial inequality will reveal that sometimes race-neutral remedies hold great promise in reducing disparities. Often, however, race-neutral remedies fail to do what they are intended to do. The authors challenge the reader to think about why race-neutral remedies—while desireable on their face—might fail to resolve protracted and persistent patterns of racial inequality in market and non-market contexts.

The Future of Motorsports

The Future of Motorsports
Author: Hans Erik Næss
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2023-06-12
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1000899381

This book takes stock of the position of motorsport in the 21st century and considers how it will continue to influence sport business, politics, and society in the future. Presenting a set of thematic essays and multi-disciplinary case studies, the book demonstrates that motorsport continues to play a significant role in relationships between the automotive industry, nationalism, industrialisation, and capitalism as well as motorsports’ position as a feature of contemporary popular culture. Examining issues such as event management and legacy, environmental sustainability and ‘greenwashing’, diversity and inclusion, the rise of gaming and esports, and the use of sport as political soft power around the world across multiple motorsport disciplines, the book shines fascinating new light on this innovative but sometimes problematic industry. This is essential reading for all advanced students, researchers, managers, strategists, sponsors, and other stakeholders working at the nexus of motorsport, business, politics, and culture.

Research Handbook on Gender and Diversity in Sport Management

Research Handbook on Gender and Diversity in Sport Management
Author: Pirkko Markula
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2024-01-18
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1802203699

This groundbreaking Research Handbook adeptly navigates how gender and diversity are addressed in sport management. Offering insight into practices and processes that work to exclude certain groups and practices, and favour others, it highlights how gendered ways of organizing sport are experienced and may be sustained, disrupted, and challenged.

Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport

Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport
Author: Richard Giulianotti
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 492
Release: 2015-07-24
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1134116624

The sociology of sport is a core discipline within the academic study of sport. It helps us to understand what sport is and why it matters. Sociological knowledge, implicit or explicit, therefore underpins scholarly enquiry into sport in every aspect. The Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport is a landmark publication that brings together the most important themes, theories and issues within the sociology of sport, tracing the contours of the discipline and surveying the state-of-the-art. Part One explores the main theories and analytical approaches that define contemporary sport sociology and introduces the most important methodological issues confronting researchers working in the social scientific study of sport. Part Two examines the connections and divisions between sociology and cognate disciplines within sport studies, including history, anthropology, economics, leisure and tourism studies, philosophy, politics and psychology. Part Three investigates how the most important social divisions within sport, and in wider society, are addressed in sport sociology, including ‘race‘, gender, class, sexuality and disability. Part Four explores a wide range of pressing contemporary issues associated with sport, including sport and the body, social problems associated with sport, sport places and settings, and the global aspects of sport. Written by a team of leading international sport scholars, including many of the most well-known, respected and innovative thinkers working in the discipline, the Routledge Handbook of the Sociology of Sport is an essential reference for any student, researcher or professional with an interest in sport.

Sports Economics

Sports Economics
Author: Roger D. Blair
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 555
Release: 2011-12-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1139504525

Sports Economics, the most comprehensive textbook in the field by celebrated economist Roger D. Blair, focuses primarily on the business and economics aspects of major professional sports and the NCAA. It employs the basic principles of economics to address issues such as the organization of leagues, pricing, advertising and broadcasting as well as the labor market in sports. Among its novel features is the candid coverage of the image and integrity of players, teams, managers and the leagues themselves, including cases of gambling, cheating, misconduct and steroids. Blair explains how economic decisions are made under conditions of uncertainty using the well-known expected utility model and makes extensive use of present value concepts to analyze investment decisions. Numerous examples are drawn from the daily press. The text offers ample boxes to illustrate sports themes, as well as extensive use of diagrams, tables, problem sets and research questions.

International Perspectives on Sport for Sustainable Development

International Perspectives on Sport for Sustainable Development
Author: Claude Sobry
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2022-09-21
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 3031069366

This book brings together examples and cases from across the world to discuss how sport has and can further contribute to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development agenda. It discusses the major steps that international bodies have taken so far and can further take in the progressive integration of sport for sustainable development. Contributors from 21 countries take up at least one of the 17 UNO Sport for Development and Peace goals, and present and analyse examples of national, regional or local policies using sport as a lever for sustainable development. From traditional games to major competitions, from gender equality to social development and developing governmental transparency, the chapters showcase diverse experiences and demonstrate that sport is today much more than just physical activity. This book is based on the network of the International Research Network in Sport Tourism (IRNIST) with the collaboration of Sport 4 Impact. It is the first step of a collaboration between universities and the world of associations working in partnership with organizations such as the UN or the European Union. The book is an important resource not just for students and researchers of sport science but for policy makers, bureaucrats and sport administrators.

The Geopolitical Economy of Sport

The Geopolitical Economy of Sport
Author: Simon Chadwick
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2023-06-06
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1000882284

This is the first book to define and explore the geopolitical economy of sport – the intersection of power, politics, money, and state interests that both exploit and shape elite sport around the world. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global response, and the consequent ramifications for sport have put the geopolitical economy of sport front and centre in both public debate and academic thinking. Similarly, the Winter Olympics in Beijing and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar illustrate the political, economic, and geographic imperatives that shape modern sport. This book brings together studies from around the world to describe this new geopolitical economy of sport, from the way in which countries use natural resource revenues, accusations of sport washing, and the deployment of sport for soft power purposes, to the way in which sport has become a focus for industrial development. This book looks at the geopolitical economy of sport across the globe, from the Gulf States’ interests in European soccer to Israel seeking to build a national competitive advantage by positioning itself as a global sports tech start-up hub, and the United States continuing to extend its economic and cultural influence through geopolitical sport activities in Africa, Latin America, and the Indian subcontinent. This book captures a pivotal moment in the history of sport and sport business. This is essential reading for any student, researcher, practitioner, or policymaker with an interest in sport business, the politics of sport, geopolitics, soft power, diplomacy, international relations, or international political economy.