Conference - 'The Nation & Sport'
Anthropological, Historical, Philosophical & Sociological
Perspectives
Hosted by: the Department of Sport Sciences
Brunel University, UK
Organised by:
John S Hunter & Sebastian Garman
WAR MINUS THE SHOOTING?
THE ROLE OF FOOTBALL IN A WARTORN SOCIETY
Gary Armstrong, Brunel University
To the people of a nation suffering from a decade-long civil conflict, sport
could be seen by some as the ideal solution to providing a focus of national
unity to a society fragmented by both ethnicity, regionalism and age-groupings.
Others might consider that sport is, in such circumstances, an insignificant
past-time which cannot provide much benefit to a nation that has to face a
future with the legacy of genocide, mass displacement of people, tens of
thousands of 'street children', and an embargo on financial aid from the West.
In this presentation, the speaker will examine the role that football and
football clubs might play in the attempt to rebuild civil society in a war-zone
that has hitherto seen co-operation amongst young men limited to military
action. The research (ongoing) questions whether the game can be a provider for
neighbourhood cohesiveness and future stability or whether the attempts to
establish peace and development through sport are naive.
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POLITICAL UNIONISM AND SPORTING NATIONALISM: AN EXAMINATION OF THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SPORT AND NATIONAL IDENTITY WITHIN THE ULSTER UNIONIST
TRADITION
Alan Bairner, University of Ulster
Most studies of the relationship between sport and national identity in
Ireland have tended to focus on Irish nationalism in general and the Gaelic
Athletic Association in particular. The neglect of Ulster unionism in this
regard implies that the other main tradition in Ireland has simply eschewed
nationalism in all its forms or has been more or less impervious to the
relationship between sport and the construction and reproduction of national
identities. In fact, as this paper reveals, sport offers useful insights into
the complex relationship which Ulster unionists have with questions of
nationality. Having examined this issue in relation to both association football
and rugby union, the paper argues that whilst remaining doggedly supportive of
the union of Britain and Northern Ireland in political terms, Ulster unionists
have consistently revealed, albeit to varying degrees, an awareness of their
Irishness in their sporting life. This conclusion, it is argued, not only has
implications for the direction of the current peace process but also for a
broader understanding of the links between sport and identity formation.
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DUBAI: AN OASIS OF WESTERN SPORT IN A DESERT OF ISLAMIC FUNDAMENTALISM?
Scott Barclay, Glasgow Caledonian
This paper critically assesses the factors impacting on the trend towards
sports tourism in the Sheikhdom of Dubai. Within this area, a series of
high-profile elite sports events have been developed including: the Dubai
Classic (golf); Dubai Masters (snooker); and Dubai Gold Cup (horseracing). It is
argued that the shift towards western sport is influenced by: the values of the
ruling Maktoum dynasty, the nature of the Islamic faith adhered to; Dubai's
geographical location as a trading port; the number of western tourists and
workers; the values of the affluent indigenous population; together with a
perception among key policy actors that, in light of the eventual decline in oil
revenues, tourism, and particularly sports tourism, offers both economic and
nation-building potential. In seeking to establish a model of sporting
development in Dubai, the paper examines whether, as the Sheikdom was only
formed in 1971, its sport is the epitome of the post-modern, with an emphasis on
participation replaced by the inhabitants' desire to gaze sporting images, and
for these to be transmitted to a global sporting audience. While the shift to
westernised sport may prove politically popular with the country's western
allies and (spectator) sport-loving indigenous population, the creation of an
apparent sporting oasis does not appear to be without its foreign policy risks,
given the strong influences of Islamic fundamentalism in surrounding states. It
is examined, therefore, whether an expansion in sports tourism in Dubai - and
the possible further absorption of western values - will be a matter of concern
to political and religious leaders in neighbouring countries.
This paper critically examines how (or if) the political, cultural and
religious tensions that arise from the population's love of (spectator) sport
and the drive towards marketing the country as a sporting haven, are being
managed by the government. It would appear that, so far, any religious disdain
has taken second place to commercial considerations, another trait frowned upon
by Islamic fundamentalism. The paper seeks to explore how such difficulties are
dealt with by a pragmatic government keen to balance both internal and external
pressures. The decline in oil reserves and revenues, and the apparent struggle
between Islamic and western ideologies, highlights that this is, indeed, an area
in transition, offering a real opportunity to critically evaluate the underlying
rationale and implications of creating a luxury sports tourism resort in an area
surrounded by both religious fundamentalism and poverty.
Key Words: sports tourism; postmodernity; national identity; religion;
sporting patronage; globalisation
^TOP
SOUTH ASIANS, ENGLISH FOOTBALL AND NATIONAL IDENTITY: MARGINALISED OR
MULTICULTURAL?
Daniel Burdsey, Brunel University
This paper is drawn from the early stages of my doctoral research into the
absence of South Asian players and supporters in English professional football.
The "post-Macpherson" era in which we operate is characterised by both
an increased sensitivity towards issues of ethnicity and (institutional) racism,
and debates about the characteristics and meanings of English national identity.
In many ways professional football has become a significant arena in which these
have been expressed. However, it will be argued that current (white, hegemonic)
discourses and policies regarding the (non-) participation of South Asians are
still characterised by an Eurocentric approach which not only equates English
national sporting identity with its white, Anglo-Saxon variant but also
marginalises the interests and identities of England's large, heterogeneous
South Asian populations. This paper proposes that this is symptomatic of a
widespread failure of English football to develop an inclusive, pluralistic
national culture which is able to account for minority ethnic groups and
recognise those sporting practices and institutions which operate outside
established hegemonic structures and do not conform to "traditional"
ideas of British sport. It is argued that not only should we seek to facilitate
the inclusion and representation of Britain's largest minority ethnic groups
within a national sporting culture but also that we should acknowledge South
Asian football culture as forming a valued component of British national
identity rather than compartmentalising it as a disparate adjunct to
"mainstream" nationhood. It will be argued that this can only be
achieved through an appreciation of the multi-faceted or "fractured"
nature of national and ethnic identities of young, male South Asians in
contemporary Britain and the role of professional football in the construction
and contestation of these.
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NATIONAL IDENTITY IN SPORT: LEGAL ISSUES SURROUNDING THE MOBILITY OF SPORTS
ATHLETES
Simon Gardiner, Sports Law Centre, APU
& Roger Welch, University of Portsmouth
This paper will chart the impact of the Bosman ruling on the migration
patterns and mobility of professional sportsmen and women intra the European
Union and inter the European Union and countries outside of its borders. Recent
developments within the European Commission concerning the transfer system and
case law such as the Balog case, which have extended this part of the ruling
will be evaluated, as will current arguments for the reintroduction of
protectionist measures that attempt to remove or at least dilute what are seen
as undesirable effects for the post-Bosman sports world. In the case of team
sports such as football, this is invariably in the guise of quotas on
non-national and foreign players and current demands for their re-introduction
will be critically evaluated. Essentially these are calls for a partial reversal
of the Bosman ruling. The legality of this move back in time under EU law is
highly questionable and would certainly require political consensus.
As with other related issues concerning freedom of movement into and within
the EU, notably the perceived increase in asylum seekers, a catalyst for this
move is a fear of the 'sporting other' most obviously in the context of issues
of national identities and the success of the national team. Close analogies can
be made between the skills and entrepreneurial energy that immigrants can bring
to the workplace economy and the qualities that foreign players can bring to
particular sports. The major paradox is whether these protectionist demands make
any sense in the context of the Europeanisation of sport - particularly
football.
The paper will evaluate the important role that the changing legal regulation
of mobility of sports athletes has in defining national identity. This is
particularly marked within the context of the role that sport has in
constructing the notion of Europeaness and supporting the increasing moves to
European integration.
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WHY ARE THE BRITISH SO PECULIAR? ANTHROPOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON SPORT,
NATIONALISM AND HIERARCHY
David N. Gellner, Dept of Human Sciences, Brunel University
For several reasons sport provides the ideal and idealised representation of
the nation-state. It therefore also reflects (and frequently has to cope with)
the limitations of the nationalist ideology. In particular, the confused state
of the British/English constitution and of British/English identity is fully
reflected in the overlapping, seemingly contradictory and untheorized plethora
of different national sports teams. A situation that may seem confused, and
which has perhaps become harder to justify in recent years, may make more sense
when viewed in the light of hierarchical notions of national identity that were
once more widespread and more respectable.
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LESSON-DRAWING: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON ELITE SPORT DEVELOPMENT SYSTEMS
IN ESTABLISHED NATIONS
Michael Green, Loughborough University & Ben Oakley, Southampton
Institute
This aim of this paper is to provide a timely review of the 'policy transfer'
literature (Dolowitz and Marsh 1996) and its application to the substantive
policy area of elite sport development systems. More specifically, we organise
the paper around a series of questions which are raised by the literature and
which serve to illuminate our contention that there is now compelling evidence
of a trend towards 'policy convergence' in a number of 'established' Western
nation-states. The key questions addressed are as follows: i) What is policy
transfer?; ii) Why engage in policy transfer?; iii) From where are lessons
drawn; iv) What is transferred?; v) Are there different degrees of transfer? The
latter question, in particular, allows us to apply and extend Rose's
lesson-drawing typology (1991, 1993) to support our main contention that, with
regard to its elite sport development system, the United Kingdom (UK) has 'drawn
lessons', predominantly from Australia, but also from a number of other
'established' nation-states. Thus evidence from elite sport development systems
in France, Spain and Canada is also used to support the general phenomenon of
lesson-drawing in this policy area. A key contention of the paper, therefore, is
that, confronted with a common problem, policy-makers in different countries can
learn from how their counterparts elsewhere respond.
In exploring this area, we also contend that, not only has some degree of
lesson-drawing occurred between these Western nation-states, but also that the
antecedents of such lesson-drawing emanates from the totalitarian regimes of the
former Eastern bloc - primarily the Soviet Union and German Democratic Republic
(GDR). Thus, in utilising Rose's (1991, 1993) typology on 'alternative ways of
drawing a lesson', we provide the beginnings of a conceptual framework for
further research into the increasing manifestation of a more 'managed approach'
to elite sport development systems in the 21st century.
The primary method employed for the generation of data is a comprehensive
review of secondary sources, supported by material generated from site visits
and interviews with key personnel responsible for UK, French and Spanish Sports
Institutes. Moreover, in conceptualising the dynamics of lesson-drawing between
our identified established nation-states and their inexorable drive towards a
more 'managed approach' to elite sport, a further line of thought is developed.
Namely, given evidence of such lesson-drawing, are we witnessing a trend towards
a uniform (global) model of elite sport development? Analysis of some of the key
features of these elite sport development systems suggests that, although there
is evidence of a 'diminishing of contrasts' between different countries, there
remains a certain diversity to each country's approach - thereby supporting, in
part, the notion of 'increasing varieties' (Maguire 1999) in such systems on a
global scale.
Dolowitz, D. & Marsh, D. (1996). Who learns what from whom?: a review of
the policy transfer literature. Political Studies, 44, 343-357.
Maguire, J. (1999). Global Sport: Identities, Societies, Civilisations.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Rose, R. (1991). What is lesson-drawing?, Journal of Public Policy, 11 (1),
3-30.
Rose, R. (1993). Lesson-Drawing in Public Policy: A Guide to Learning Across
Time and Space. Chatham, NJ: Chatham House Publishers.
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OUTSIDERS IN THE NATION:
SPORT AND WOMEN ON THE MARGINS
Dr Jennifer Hargreaves, Professor of Sport Sociology
Department of Sport Sciences, Brunel University
This paper concerns women in sport from 'marginalised' groups in different
nation states - specifically, examples will be drawn from Black women in sport
in South Africa; Muslim women in the Middle East; Aboriginal women from
Australia and Canada; and lesbian women and disabled women from across the
world. The debate about personal and national identities is a central focus of
the paper - for example, whether women from such groups are, or can be,
representative of 'the nation' as a whole. Further, the characterisation of the
nation, through sport, as representative of men and women in general is treated
as problematic and the issue of gender power is considered. The paper recognises
the complexities of late capitalist/ postmodern/ postcolonial societies and
engages with recent debates around 'identity politics' and the 'politics of
difference', highlighting the importance of the particular as opposed to the
general. It is not just to do with differences between men and women in
representations of the nation, but also acknowledges that women are not a
homogeneous group either between nation states or within each nation state. The
paper will touch on the emergence of the 'Women's International Sport Movement'
and whether or not it is representative of all groups of women from its
different member nations. Details from the biographies of one or two individual
sportswomen - for example, Cathy Freeman from Australia and Hassiba Boulmerka
from Algeria, will be used to illustrate particular arguments.
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THE EMERGENCE (OR RE-EMERGENCE?) OF ENGLISH NATIONALISM
WITH SPORT AS THE CATALYST
John S Hunter, Brunel University Department of Sport Sciences
"The thing is, I admire the idea of England but I can't stand the
reality"
Pico Iyer (2000)
The premise that a post-Union form of English nationalism may have been
evident some 200 years ago (Newman 1997) is examined in particular relation to
Hutchinson's (1994) position that the nation is a distinctly modern institution.
The import of the apparent development of other nations, e.g. Scottish, within
the British Isles is considered as a defining line for English nationalism. The
prospect of an English nation is viewed as a potential supervention, accepting
Gellner's (1983) contention that "nationalism engenders nations".
The role played by (a) UK Government spokespersons, (b) English governing
bodies of sport, and (c) the media, are viewed in relation to the intrinsic
and/or instrumental nature of arguments presented by them. The change in culture
effected by and during the 1996 European Football Championships is put forward
as a defining moment in the historical context.
The conclusion is offered that there may have been a seeming inexorable
stance developing re the concept of English nationalism, via the impetus from
certain major sports particularly. The stance may embody a concomitant shift
from a civic to an ethnic conception of the nation. However, this contention is
considered in relation to the paradox suggested by the aspects of increased
Europeanisation that are currently evident in the UK/England, within, and
without, sport.
References:
Gellner, E. (1983). Nations and Nationalism. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hutchinson, J. (1994). Modern Nationalism. Glasgow: Harper Collins.
Iyer, P. (2000). The Global Soul. London: Bloomsbury.
Newman, G. (1997). The Rise of English Nationalism. A Cultural History
1740-1830.
New York: St. Martin's Press.
^TOP
NATIONALISM, MORAL REGENERATION, AND SPORT
Dr John Hutchinson, European Institute, LSE
In many countries certain sports have become identified with the nation and
its distinctive character. Sports have also been created to express a particular
nationalist vision. This presentation examines the relationship between the rise
of sports and sporting organisations and the vision of nationalism, notably its
activism, its focus on a golden age, its vision of integration and regeneration,
and its emphasis on the education and training of young men. National sports
have multiple functions that include physical and military training, moral
regulation, cultural differentiation from 'the other', induction into a general
counter cultural movement, and underground politics. The definition of national
sports, however, is not uncontested, and rivalry between sports can express
different visions of the nation.
^TOP
SPORT AND NATION-BUILDING IN MALAYSIA: A SOCIO-POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak, Universiti.Utara Malaysia
& Dr. Mohd Soffian Omar Fawzee, Universiti. Putra Malaysia
The paradox of nation-building in many deeply divided societies is one of
reconciling ethnic allegiance with overarching loyalty to the state. This is
because the forces of ethnicity and nationalism that emerged in these societies
tend to be social and politically salient, thus, making the process of
nation-building not only difficult but a complex task. As a plural society,
nation-building has always been a great challenge for Malaysia. Amid its
relative stability and rapid economic development especially over the past two
decades, Malaysia's nation-building project has not been fully accomplished, and
constantly dominates political agendas. Broadly speaking, nation-building refers
to a process of constructing national identity that could accommodate ethnic
pluralism while simultaneously inculcating an overarching sense of nationhood.
To attain this objective, a conscious programme of political socialisation is
required to provide sustenance to the new civic culture amongst the diverse
ethnic communities. At the very initial stage, the creation of symbols of
national identity seems to precede all other initiatives. In this regards,
flags, anthems and uniforms all serve this purpose. However, sport as a popular
culture that cut across class, caste and ethnicity has a lot to offer in as far
as nation-building is concerned. The role of sport in nation-building is
multi-faceted. It has the 'power' of creating the sense of national pride and
socio-psychological equilibrium and can be considered as one of the important
means of constructing the sense of belonging which is crucial for the
development of national integration. Sport provides people with a social context
where they can encounter other people in a non-threatening way and can get rid
of harmful emotions that can caused ethnic divisions.
This brief paper attempts to demonstrate how sport has been playing a
significant role in the 'project' of nation-building in Malaysia. Huge amount of
money has been spent by the government to develop world class sport facilities
in Malaysia in order to allow the country to win the bid for hosting
international sport events. With that it has also provides Malaysian athletes
with a broader opportunities to excel themselves in various sport. The country
has been able to host the Commonwealth Games (the second biggest game after the
Olympics) in 1998 in the midst of Asian economic and political crises with great
success. In 1999, the Formula One motor racing was brought to the country as an
annual event. Using 'nationalistic slogans like Malaysia Boleh! (Malaysia Can!)
the government has attempted to instill a sense of patriotism among Malaysians.
With that the country had sponsored the multi-ethnic Malaysian mountain climbers
to set the national flag on the peak of Mount Everest; a solo round the world
sailing on a new route; parachuting the national car-the Proton- on the North
pole; and the two brothers walking project to the South pole. All these events
were considered as national projects and were given massive publicity by the
local media and covered live by national television stations. The outcome was
tremendous. A sense of pride in being Malaysian has been effectively
consolidated as a result of those achievements. These achivements have pushed,
cajoled and browbeaten Malaysian's ethnic communities to think themselves as
Malaysians first, at the time
the country was facing with its biggest twin crises as a result of the Asian
financial meltdown from July 1997 to 1999. While the focus of all these ventures
was obviously political, namely to create the sense of national pride towards
national unity, the mean that was capitalised is the least political, that is
sport. Although Malaysian nation-building predicament is far from being fully
resolved, it is argue that the impact from sport onto the society and in the
political arena, in particular, in easing national tension that came from
centrifugal tendencies such as that of ethnic division has to be adequately
recognised. It is therefore argue that sport can and would be able to play a
very significant role in promoting nation-building in deeply divided societies.
Sport and nation formation cannot be separated, and it is suggested that more
study should be done in this area in order to further apprehend how sport can be
of crucially important in bringing people together as envisages in the spirit of
the greatest sport on earth, namely the Olympic Game.
Malaysian society comprises three major ethnic communities. The Malays and
other indigenous communities, who made up about 50 percent of the population are
classified as Bumiputera (lit. sons of the soil). The rest are two sizeable
immigrant communities who are also known as the non-Bumiputera, one Chinese who
constitute 37 percent and the other Indians who made up 11 percent. The other 2
percent are from various ethnic origins. While the Malays are all Muslims and
speak Malay, other Bumiputera communities practice differing religions and have
their respective languages. On the other hand, while Indian are mainly Hindus
and speak Tamil, the religious and language backgrounds of the Chinese are much
more complicated. Religion and language divisions in Malaysia, therefore, occur
both within and across ethnic groups. As far as nation-building is concerned, it
is the Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera ethnic divide that is perceived as most
important by many Malaysians as it illustrates the delicate demographic balance
between the two categories, each constituting about 50 percent of the
population, yet in there exist imbalances as far as political and economic
dimensions are concerned. Whilst the Bumiputeras are politically dominant, the
non-Bumiputeras are more superior in the socio-economic fields. This is the
complex scenario of Malaysian society that makes nation-building a daunting
challenge for the country.
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NATIONAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR OLYMPIC ATHLETES:
A DIALECTIC ON THE SITUATION IN CANADA
Jackson, John J. & Farkas, George,
University of Victoria, Canada
The Australian successes at the Sydney Olympics drew attention to Australia's
élite sports development system and stimulated people in other countries to
consider whether or not such measures would be advisable for their countries.
Some people in established nations advocate it while others do not. The
dialectic here is to test the wisdom of such opinions in Canada by discussion
and logical disputation. Three possible models for Canada are presented: the
status quo; the Australian model, and the zero funding from government model.
The likely consequences of each model are discussed and an "optimum"
solution is suggested.
^TOP
SPORT IN THE MAKING OF NATIONS
Professor Grant Jarvie, University of Stirling
Innocent questions about sports can soon lead to fairly heated and complex
debates about states, territoriality, governance and representation. With almost
very few exceptions all states are faced with the problem of managing a sense of
national identity and all world sporting organisations are faced with the
pressure of changing world relations. At the heart of these pressures is the
desire for the state and its peoples to establish a sense of national unity upon
an ever-changing world stage. The adoption of national flags, anthems,
currencies, foods, policies, representation at world summits, and, the extent to
which sporting organisations continue to seek national affiliation to
international sporting organisations, can all be used to substantiate the thesis
that states uses various mechanisms to consolidate a sense of territoriality.
These practices also foster a sense of belonging amongst its people's, a sense
of relative autonomy from globalisation or potentially and perhaps most
importantly, a sense of values or citizenship. In many cases these might be
mythical, but whether they are reality congruent or not they, in part, owe an
allegiance to national cultures or identities and it is for example in this
later sense that one might talk of the American dream or Scottish socialism or
the Irish Nationalist cause during the early part of the 20th century. Sport has
had a part to play in all of these and many other facets of the making of
nationhood, nationalism and identities and yet these notions themselves despite
volumes of words remain difficult to pin down. The first part of this paper
considers some of the core issues relating to Nationalisms, Identities and
Nations.
The second part of this paper evaluates some of the arguments that have been
used to identify sport with the making of Nations. The paper suggests, in part,
that the potential weakness in thinking of the nation as a place is that it
becomes fixed in content, time and space. It is a view that fails to acknowledge
the nation or the territory as a process that is neither fixed nor immutable.
Territorial expansion or contraction is but one of many ways in which the nation
as a place changes over time but the idea of what the nation is or which sports
represent the nation also change in relation to the social, cultural and
political contexts. The point that is being established here is that while
different sporting occasions and different sporting heroes and heroines may all
help to keep alive ideas of what a certain nation is, many of these experiences
have at their core different notions of what the nation is, was or should be.
The content, timing and symbolism of sport and nationalism in Ireland to-day is
entirely different from what it was in the 1920s because Ireland itself as a
process is different to-day from what it was in the 1920s. Thus geographic place
and time is just part of the transcendent or changing idea of the nation as it
moves through history.
^TOP
'IRREDEEMABLY ENGLISH AND PROLETARIAN'? SOCCER AND NATIONAL IDENTITY IN SOUTH
WALES BETWEEN THE WARS
Martin Johnes, St Martin's College, Lancaster
'Wales is an artefact which the Welsh produce' wrote the influential
historian Gwyn A. Williams (Williams, 1985: 304). Exactly what that artefact
was, and how it was produced, are contentious questions obscured by current
political ideas about Wales's future, the absence of a nation state and internal
geographic, linguistic and ethnic divisions. Yet sport has been a central pillar
in inventing, maintaining and projecting the idea of a single Welsh national
identity in and outside her blurred borders. It has helped gloss over the
different meanings that the people of Wales attach to their nationality,
enabling them to assert their Welshness in the face of internal division and the
political, social and cultural shadow of England (Johnes, 2000).
Although rugby union is popularly seen as the Welsh national sport, soccer
too has played its part in producing and projecting Wales. This was despite its
image as an 'irredeemably English and proletarian sport' (Williams, 1985: 221).
The early inter-war period saw a massive growth in the game in south Wales. By
the early 1920s the region could boast five clubs in the English Football League
including Cardiff City who had become a leading force in the first division and
the FA Cup. When Cardiff finally won the FA Cup in 1927, with a team consisting
of men from the four corners of the UK, the achievement was proclaimed across
Wales as a national achievement. Rugby fans, fearing for the future of their own
sport, employed patriotic arguments against such successful multinational Welsh
soccer teams. Yet for the fans (and the observing English press) the likes of
Cardiff City were emblems of Wales and Welshness. The depth of the economic
depression that was then engulfing south Wales made the popular need for any
success all the greater and soccer became a new cultural symbol of Welsh
national identity in a Wales that had yet again been remade by its people.
Yet, despite the popular patriotic rhetoric surrounding important club
matches, it was not reflective of an overriding wider unity between south and
north. This was clearly illustrated in soccer through the apathy shown by
supporters towards the Welsh Cup and Welsh League. In south Wales, national
identity was based on and intertwined with a sense of regional pride. The south
was a fragmented unit with no cultural signs or language of its own and it thus
appropriated those of Wales.
Professional soccer players enjoyed their strongest bond with the clubs they
played for every week. Thus men in the Welsh national side who were from the
north or who had left south Wales for English clubs, were never heroes in the
way that English players with the local team were. This meant that international
soccer never enjoyed the symbolic patriotic importance of international rugby or
club soccer. Even at times of success, such as the late 1930s, the Welsh
national team may have been applauded but it was never seen as a vehicle through
which Welsh greatness could be projected. Indeed, as more and more of Wales's
best players ended up at English clubs, the national team served to remind the
people of south Wales of their economic problems and the associated decline in
local club soccer.
Above the level of Welsh identity was the question of Wales's Britishness.
The commitment of clubs and supporters to English competitions illustrated how
Wales was not interested in asserting her independence but rather sought
recognition and equality with the rest of Britain. If English players and
competitions offered a route to glory on a wider platform then they were
adopted. To the people of south Wales, loyalties and identities were complex,
intertwined and even contradictory. A multinational team could be turned into
Welsh heroes whilst a side of Welshmen bearing the name of Wales given a less
euphoric reception. Soccer not only reflected the complexity of this national
identity, for many people it helped shape it (Johnes, 2001).
References
Johnes, M. (2000). 'Eighty Minute Patriots? Sport and National Identity in
Modern Wales', International Journal of the History of Sport, 17 (4), 93-110
Johnes, M. (2001 forthcoming) 'True Football': Soccer and Society in South
Wales, 1900-39, Cardiff: University of Wales Press
Williams, G. A. (1985). When was Wales?, London: Penguin
^TOP
IDENTITY AND SPORT IN LITHUANIA
Skaiste Laskiene & Vilma Cingiene, Lithuanian Academy of Physical
Education
In the last decade Lithuanian cultural life experienced clearly noticeable
transformations in the scope of pluralism of different social and cultural
practices. The process of individualisation and differentiation is taking place
in the surroundings and style of life raising the issue of actual content in a
hierarchic model of social classes and layers. Individualisation of social
differences has its consequences: social interaction and contacts have to become
more intensive individually. An individual wavers between the diffusion and
establishment of identity. How an individual will solve this issue depends on
his individual and social resources. The individual in social context is forced
to battle for himself and his identity in a different way.
In the recent years a discussion takes place about sport as an activity creating
a person's identity. Since traditional institutions involved in creation of
identity such as kinship, social network, religion or patriotism are losing
their significance, it becomes more and more difficult to solve such issues as
life strategy and development of new interrelations. It can be stated that the
human body in this situation undergoes its Renaissance as a survived and
acknowledged resource for identity development. The human body becomes a shelter
in order to compensate the loss of authenticity and identity. The analysis of
community processes indicates that "identity" may be analysed as the
main category that provides an opportunity to perceive the involvement of an
individual into comprehension of processes of change. The significance of sport
in developing the individual's identity in the modern society becomes vivid by
answering the following questions: what is the role played by the human body,
movement and sport in development from personal to social identity.
Another aspect being not less significant is that an individual in the modern
society has an opportunity to choose different forms of sport. Therefore, the
question may be raised in which cases the choice of some kind of sport
determines a certain identification? What is the influence of the most popular
sport - basketball - in maintaining national identity during the Soviet times?
It is a chance or a rational self-determination, influence of social context in
the modern world or continuity of tradition?
We assume that identity and its conceptual understanding can be analysed only
within a specific individual-environment interaction. Therefore, sport as a
relatively clearly defined social system could serve for description and
analysis of identity formation process in a special social context. The major
question is how the dynamics of identity in sport should be analysed? Choice of
methods should depend on research interests and be reflective to the changes
taking place in society and sport. At present, the works in psychology,
sociology and pedagogics are not sufficient and do not satisfy sport specialists
since the issues related to the human body are not discussed adequately. Since
we will try to investigate empirically a concrete social context, sport, we will
use the term "sport inscenisation" acceptable to sport science and
proposed by Dietrich (1989, 1990).
REFERENCES Dietrich, K.: Inszenierungformen des Sports - Die Einheit und die
Vielfalt des Sports, in: Dietrich, K/ Heinemann, K. (Hrsg): Der nicht -
sportliche Sport, Schorndorf: Hofmann 1989. Dietrich, K/ Heinemann, K./ M.
Schubert: Kommerzielle Sportanbieter, Schorndorf: Hofmann 1990.
^TOP
LIGHTING UP THE NATION? GENDER AND RACIAL POLITICS AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
Jim McKay, University of Queensland
& Alan Tomlinson, University of Brighton
At one level, the lighting of the cauldron by Cathy Freeman and Muhammad Ali
at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics can be taken as vindication of the cherished
Olympic ideal of universalism (AKA 'Celebrate Humanity'). At another level,
these evocative acts also exemplify Barthes' concept of myth-making - the
process by which we tell ourselves stories about ourselves in ways that
naturalise and depoliticise social relations. In this paper, we analyse the
myth-making process surrounding the Freeman and Ali events with specific
reference to the how some aspects of the attendant gender and racial politics
were accentuated while others were marginalised and omitted.
^TOP
NEITHER IRREDEEMABLY HEGEMONIC NOR INHERENTLY RESISTIVE: DOMINANCE AND
DISSIDENCE IN RUGBY UNION IN AOTEAROA/
NEW ZEALAND
Malcolm MacLean
Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education
Rugby union in Aotearoa/New Zealand is imbricated with the dominant colonial,
patriarchal and national ideological formation(s). Rugby union's intimate
relationship with these dominant ideological formations has tended to mean that
it has been rejected as a site of cultural struggle, almost as if it were seen
as 'irredeemable'. This paper proposes that rugby union may be understood as
both a site of legitimation of and dissidence from these dominant ideologies.
This dissidence may be seen in debates around and iconographic representations
of sporting violence, Maori players and women rugby players. The paper argues
that rejecting rugby union in Aotearoa/New Zealand as an irredeemable cultural
site undermines the potential resistive and dissident cultural politics of
rugby, so that those who do see rugby in these irredeemable terms miss the
potential of a politics of resistance and the implications of a dissident
cultural politics of rugby.
This paper is part of a larger project proposing a poetics of rugby union as
a cultural text in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This poeticalness is derived in part
from structural and post-structural linguistics and considers the cultural
politics of rugby as metaphor, metonym and synecdoche. The particular concern is
the effect that understanding rugby as each of these rhetorical forms has on
counter hegemonic struggles around the cultural codes of rugby union. This
project consider rugby union in Aotearoa/New Zealand as at various times a
metaphor, a metonym and a synecdoche for and of the wider regime of cultural
power. The focus of this poetics is the synecdochal as the most significant form
that best encapsulates the cultural role of rugby union in maintaining the
dominant regime of cultural power. The project has two sections. In the first
the cultural role of rugby union is problematized by looking at ways that
questions of rugby violence, women's rugby and the question of Maori rugby
proficiency challenge dominant forms of masculinity articulated through rugby.
The second section considers these specific linguistic questions and proposes a
reading of cultural resistance to rugby's role in maintaining established
cultural politics. This paper emphasises the first section of the project.
^TOP
THE GLOBAL SPORTING ARMS RACE: SELF-ESCALATING PRESSURES
AND NATIONAL MOTIVES
Ben Oakley, Southampton Business School & Mick Green, Loughborough
University
Almost every year at genuine world sporting events such as the football World
Cup, athletics World Championship and the Olympic Games the national
comparisons, statistical analysis and finger-pointing begins anew. This paper
considers the influences, both contemporary and historical, of 'the
self-escalating pressure of inter-state competition in sport and its role as a
status symbol of nations' (Elias, 1986, p23). The military metaphor of an 'arms
race' is used here since modern elite success relies on sophisticated national
development systems and committed long-term funding to prepare for events. This
paper reviews the antecedents and discusses influences upon such inflationary
arms race thinking using a figurational approach that recognises that the
processes involved may transcend the boundaries of nations, be uneven, long-term
and historically rooted. From this perspective, the interconnections between
globalization and differing national motives for elite success will be explored.
The questions that we pose at the outset are: What have been the main stimuli
of this self-escalating arms race that engage both established and new nations?
How has the nature of the arms race changed since the failure of eastern
European Communism? Does the expansion of disciplines in the Olympic programme,
including the recognition of the Paralympics, maintain sporting inequalities in
favour of established nations? The approach taken is to adopt the fivefold 'sportization'
framework that has been recently developed by (Maguire, 1999) which traces the
transformation of English pastimes into sports and the diffusion of some of them
on a global scale. The response to the above research questions uses medal data
from summer Olympic Games records (1960-2000) to support the argument that the
dominance of established nations (which we define) has been threatened by a
number of more recent influences. It is suggested that the eastern European
sporting threat (1952-1988) prompted established nations to re-assess the
somewhat distanced relationship between government and sport and stimulated
legitimacy for state intervention. Since then, the 'catalysts' of new nation
formation, the decolonisation phases in Asia and Africa (e.g. Malaysia and
Kenya) and the more recent trend towards democratisation and fragmentation of
nations (e.g. the fragmentation of eastern European nations), have influenced
national motives that have further stimulated the global sporting arms race.
Finally, we explore the observations of Eichberg's seminal (1984) study in
the fifth sportization phase, which suggested that Olympism is a social pattern
that reflects the everyday culture of the western and east European industrial
society. Since Eichberg's study there has been considerable expansion of the
Olympic programme and hence the 'terms and conditions' of the global sporting
arms race. Specifically, we consider empirically which nations benefit most from
the rising number of women's disciplines, the introduction of new sports to the
Olympic programme and the Paralympic Games phenomenon. We conclude that these
changes largely serve the interests of established nations although evidence
suggests that some Asian nations have seen their opportunities for success
increase.
In summary, this paper provides a timely review of the long-term development of
an escalating sporting arms race including consideration of the pressures that
have shaped and contributed to its growth amongst both established and new
nations.
References
Eichberg, H (1984) 'Olympic sport: neocolonism and alternatives' IRSS 19
pp.97-105
Elias, N, (1986) Introduction in Elias, N. & Dunning, E., Quest for
Excitement: sport and leisure in the civilizing process, Blackwell: Oxford,
pp19-62
Maguire, J (1999) Global Sport; Identities, Societies, Civilizations,
Blackwell:
Oxford
^TOP
THE EMERGENCE OF THE NATIONAL SPORTING HERO.
BRITISH BOXERS AT THE TIME OF THE NAPOLEONIC WARS.
Peter Radford, Brunel University Department of Sport Sciences
In 1811 Tom Cribb, the British Prize-Ring Champion defended his title against
Tom Molineaux, a freed slave from America. The fight captured the public's
imagination, and when Tom Cribb won he was received as a national hero. He was
allowed to retain his title for a further eleven and a half years without having
to defend it once. This is one of the first examples of a national sporting hero
and this paper examines Tom Cribb's status in the context of Britain's
vulnerability and insecurity at the time. Britain was at war with France and had
been almost continuously for the past 18 years, with no end in sight and was
poised on the brink of the Luddite and other social and economic disturbances.
^TOP
WOMEN & SPORT IN TAIWAN: SOCIO-STRUCTURAL &
SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
Chiung-Tzu Lucetta Tsai, De Montfort University
Key words: sport, women's sport, women's sport constraints
Confucian philosophy has traditionally had a considerable influence on many
aspects of the lives of the Taiwanese people. Women's participation in sport has
been one area of social life that has been caught between this clash of
cultures. The focus of this paper will be on this issue. Specifically, it will
examine the changing nature of the sport activities of Taiwanese women and will
seek to develop an understanding of those factors that serve to limit women's
involvement in physical activities. These categories can be broadly termed as
socio-structural and socio-cultural perspectives. In this paper, I explore the
extent to which such factors shape women's physical activities and participation
in Taiwan. Furthermore, as Confucianism is a crucial and universal variable that
penetrates every aspects of Taiwanese life, it is necessary to take account of
this belief structure in order to explain women's physical activities in
traditional Chinese societies such as Taiwan.
The socio-structural factors that restrict women's physical activities in Taiwan
can be examined under two sub-headings: 'poor availability of facilities' and
'masculine bias'. Under Confucianism, a woman's social status and self-identity
are, throughout her life cycle, defined by men, namely, her father, her husband,
and her son. From its inception, Confucianism has been clear in its position on
women: females are placed at the lower end of the family hierarchy, and their
roles are strictly confined within the domestic sphere. They must operate in
domestic spaces in order to exercise the limited moral agency which they are
"allocated" by men. Such beliefs continue to strongly influence
women's opportunities to participate in physical activities. In Confucian
teachings, the ideology of patriarchy is a powerful structuring force that
shapes women's sport. Under the patriarchal and hegemony authority of the
society, males gain and retain a "birth right" to dominate females.
Many women in Taiwan have never thought about whether sport facilities are
designed to take into account of their needs. Hence, women remain in a
subordinate position in Taiwanese society. The socio-cultural perspectives
referred to women have less autonomy to go out and to participate in physical
activities than men. The general attitude of a girl or a woman's parents and/or
her husband is that females should not participate in physical activities as
often as men. In Confucian society, women are expected to play a passive,
submissive and subservient role. Such suppression of women as dictated by
Confucianism is in turn manifested in women's poor level of participation in
sport activities.
^TOP
MAKING SENSE OF EMERALD COMMOTION: RUGBY UNION,
NATIONAL IDENTITY AND IRELAND.
Jason Tuck, King Alfred's College, Winchester
Sport is an important arena for the construction, maintenance and challenging
of identities. This paper aims to explore, using a figurational sociological
perspective, the complex inter-relationship between sport, culture and national
identity with particular reference to rugby union in Ireland.
A framework for the analysis of national identity is put forward here which
seeks to outline the usefulness of combining sociological and historical
research methodologies. In this regard, a figurational perspective seeks to make
sense of national identity by considering a series of key 'processual' social
dynamics. These dynamics, such as the simultaneously enabling and constraining
features of globalization processes, can help shed light on the 'double bind' of
sport and national identity.
The connection between sport and national identity can be conceptualised as a
dynamic, long-term inter-relationship which is coloured by multiple networks of
interdependence. The theoretical and research design framework endorsed here
seeks to uncover some of these interlocking networks by considering the
importance of researching historical archives, the media and the players to
start to explore the complex web of figurations related to sport and national
identity in a more coherent manner.
A case study of rugby union in Ireland since 1945 is employed to demonstrate
how various sources of evidence can be 'triangulated' to help make more sense of
the relationship between rugby union and a specific 'nation'. Rugby union (as a
global team sport now with a recognised World Cup) is arguably the most
significant sporting arena whereby the imagined community of Ireland can become
'real'. This temporary union of two politically distinct nations through sport
provides an interesting context for the researcher of national identity. This
context will be explored by considering 'official' historical accounts of Irish
rugby, how the British media portray Irish rugby union and the views of
contemporary international Irish rugby players.
^TOP
THE USEFUL SUBALTERN: APPROPRIATION OF
ABORIGINAL CULTURE AT THE SYDNEY OLYMPICS
Gavin Wenzel, Brigham Young University - Hawaii Campus
Australia is widely recognized as a sport loving country. The idea that sport
is the level playing field here distinctions of race and gender diminish fits
well with Australian notions of egalitarianism. However, some have argued
against this idea that Australian sport has been an egalitarian social arena
(Adair & Vamplew 1997). With the fragmentation of aboriginal societies and
cultural practices which
colonization brought, came the loss of 'traditional' aboriginal sports (Adair
& Vamplew 1997). Aboriginals were for the most part excluded from the Anglo
and latter European sporting traditions of the dominant culture. Nevertheless,
Australia's sporting tradition gathered impetus after the colony began to
distinguish itself in contests against the motherland (Vamplew 1994). Searching
further and
wider than her motherland to test her prowess, Australia is one of only three
countries to participate in all the modern Summer Olympic Games, since its
inception in 1896 (Vamplew 1994). Furthermore, the only two times that the
Summer Olympics have been held in the Southern Hemisphere, it has been held in
Australia. This obsession with sport is key to understanding the social
importance of the staging of the 2000 Sydney Olympics for Australians and the
way they wish the world to perceive them.
The opening ceremony provides space in which the host nation is able capitalize
on the publicity of the largest sporting festival in the world to mobilize a
national vision, at home and abroad. Millions of people watched, from throughout
the world, to see how Australia would represent itself in Sydney. In this paper
I focus on the centerpiece of the opening ceremonies, a 75-minute performance,
which claimed to portray the history of Australia. The motives and methods of
foregrounding a marginalized group during this performance are called into
question. It is my argument that the performance celebrated primitivist and
essentialist versions of Aboriginality, obscuring contemporary and urban
aboriginality. Furthermore, the
performance reinforced the current social stratification and perpetuated the
appropriation of things aboriginal for the use of the dominant culture. Cathy
Freeman being held up as the light of reconciled Australia, white Australia was
proud of her and proud of themselves for being proud of an Aboriginal
Australian. This was
only able to occur because of her status as an athlete. The phenomenon would
never have occurred had she simply been a politician or activist. The overall
effect of the performance gave the appearance of increased social solidarity
between cultures. This is yet to develop into lasting improvements in the
quality of race relations in Australia. The unifying effect for the greater
Australian nation was a result of poaching from the 'natural catchment area' of
the indigenous nation.
^TOP
SPORT, NATIONAL IDENTITY AND NATIONAL PRIDE
Lesley Wright, Brunel University
In this paper I champion the good side of nationalism. It is argued that
sport played at all levels can contribute to our sense of national identity. It
is within this context that pride can be defended as an appropriate emotion,
which can enhance sport as a human good and enrich our experience, whether we
are watching or participating. It is a virtue worth preserving even when other,
vicious nationalistic emotions, disguise or distort it. It is further argued
that there can be a reciprocal relationship: where the value of sport can
enhance benign national feelings; and enjoyment of sport can be intensified and
inspired by the national dimension. However it is also acknowledged that there
is a need for self-reflection.
^TOP
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