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 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.

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.

Sport and physical activity are now regularly used to promote social and economic development, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, on an international scale. The emergence of the ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector, comprised of governments, NGOs, sport organizations and others, reveals a high level of institutionalization of this activity, while SDP now constitutes an important element of the scholarly analysis of sport. This volume analyses and critically discusses the central elements of, and research issues within, the field of SDP and also provides a series of case studies (substantive and geographic) of key research. It is the most holistic and far-reaching text published on this topic to date. Featuring multidisciplinary perspectives from world-leading researchers and practitioners from around the world, the book covers a wide range of topics, including SDP structures, policies and funding streams, how SDP relates to human rights, social exclusion and corporate social responsibility, SDP and gender, SDP and disability, SDP and health, SDP and homelessness, and SDP and the environment. The Handbook of Sport for Development and Peace is a vital resource for researchers, students and educators in the fields of sports studies, physical education, sport for development and peace, sport-based youth development, sport and politics, sociology of sport, and sport policy.

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.