Aaron Beacom

Sport and international development

List of Illustrations List of Contributors Preface L. Read and J. Bingham Introduction - Sport and Development: Mapping the Field R. Levermore and A. Beacom Sport-in-International Development: Theoretical Frameworks R. Levermore Sport-in-Development: Accountability or Development? F. Coalter A Delicate Balance: Major Sport Events and Development S. Cornelissen Disability Sport and the Politics of Development A. Beacom Dilemmas and Opportunities in Gender and Sport-in-development M. Saavedra On the Backs of Peer Educators: Using Theory to Interrogate the Role of Young People in the Field of Sport-in-development S. Nicholls Getting to Know You: Using Sport to Engage and Build Relationships with Socially Marginalized Young People T. Crabbe Southern Perspective on Sport-in-development: A Case Study of Football in Bamenda, Cameroon J. Fokwang Sport as International Aid: Assisting Development or Promoting Under-development in Sub-Saharan Africa? G. Akindes and M. Kirwan Conclusion Index

Re-assessing sport-for-development: Moving beyond mapping the territory.

Over the past decade, as the efficacy of many development interventions was being challenged, sports-based development initiatives appeared to offer alternative conduits for addressing health, education and other developmental concerns. We have, over the past 5 years, contributed to an emerging body of literature, which has explored the rationale, structure and delivery frameworks underpinning this so-called sport-for-development movement. Commenting on the literature, Lindsey and Grattan are critical of the overt focus on ‘Northern’ actors engaged with sport-for-development programmes and postulate a ‘decentred’ approach (that encompasses a more nuanced understanding of ‘Southern voices’) thus broadening our comprehension of the development process. This article constitutes our response to Lindsey and Grattans contentions, while also taking into account Darnell and Hayhursts rejoinder, which advocates a refocusing on the global hegemony of key development actors and a critical analysis of Northern-led development initiatives. We argue that both papers make valuable contributions, promoting the theorizing of sport-for-development discourse through what are in many respects, methodologically rigorous complementary perspectives. Having examined the contribution of these two papers, we consider key issues that are likely to characterize the future trajectory of sport-for-development discourse thus taking the debate beyond ‘mapping the territory’. These issues include the power relations in sport-for-development; the evolving contribution of sports INGOs as key actors in sport-for-development; and the challenge of evaluating development processes. This article highlights the importance of engaging with the established mainstream development discourse that provides an extensive body of theory through which to construct a critical assessment of sport-for-development. This is evident, for example, in contending theories relating to the process of evaluating the impact of development interventions. This article concludes by highlighting the importance of listening to the voices of all stakeholders involved in the sport-for-development process if the significance of such interventions is to be fully understood.

A Question of Motives: Reciprocity, Sport and Development Assistance

Abstractn The establishment of sport within the international development assistance portfolio signifies wider changes in the development assistance agenda as well as the expanding developmental role of a range of key sports organizations and agencies. The structure and objectives of such initiatives highlight shifting priorities of sports organizations as actors in international society, as well as informing wider debate concerning what constitutes effective international development assistance. Governmental and non-governmental sports organizations pursue their objectives through a range of international development assistance initiatives, while at the same time the efficacy of assistance based on reciprocal interests continues to provide the context for programme development. Tension between the principle of reciprocity and the pursuit of self-interest continues to challenge notions of mutualism. The effective management of this tension through open and transparent dialogue between donors and recipients predicates successful development assistance.

Sport in International Relations: A Case for Cross-Disciplinary Investigation

The political and cultural dimensions of sport are widely recognised and international sport is generally accepted as contributing to the dynamics of international relations. It follows that the changing characteristics of sport will reflect something of the general developments in international relations. Ongoing debates concerning the implications of globalisation, the significance of international non-governmental organisations on policy making, the effect of transnational movements on sovereignty and the changing relationship between identity and place, are some of the issues which can indeed be considered through the prism of the international sports environment. The paper suggests that since these debates are central to the investigations of International Relations writers, their work should attract more attention from those seeking to understand the place of sport and sports organisations in international society. It also suggests that there are reciprocal benefits for the discipline of International Relations, since a focus on the organisation of sport provides a rich seam of empirical evidence which may provide support for-or indeed a challenge to-arguments concerning recent developments in international relations.

Opportunities, Limitations, Questions

Sport-in-development is in its formative years. The use of sport as a development tool reflects efforts to broaden the activities of the development process. This increased usage of a range of sports in a number of development contexts is due to a combination of factors, including the need to find new ways to facilitate and promote developmental goals, especially to areas/communities affected by well documented concerns over the effectiveness of the state (and other mainstream actors) to improve conditions for their citizens (as discussed by Levermore in Chapter 2). The appeal of sport to reach communities, particularly young people, largely excluded from substantive traditional development activity is an argument put forward by many advocates of sport-in-development. For example, Nelson Mandela is frequently referenced as saying: nSport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down barriers. It laughs in the face of discrimination (quoted for instance by The Guardian, 2004 and Sporting Equals, undated).

Indigenous Sport and the Search for Belonging

The relationship of sport to the formation and development of national identity is evident in a variety of ways and has been the subject of detailed analysis within a number of academic disciplines . The ‘otherness’ of the collective may be articulated through sport, as it is through certain forms of art or literature . In this way it may contribute to the development of ‘characteristics’ perceived as exclusive to the community or nation. Alternatively, success in sport either by individuals or groups may contribute to the elevation of national status in the international arena. In terms of that aspect of identity based on ‘otherness’, sports considered as indigenous or ‘native’ to a community or region have a particular significance. In terms of the development of identity through the enhancement of national prestige, those sports described as ‘international’ adopting a universal code of rules for the purpose of competition have the greatest potential. The paper concerns itself with these separate dimensions of national identity and their reflection in the promotion of contrasting forms of sport.

Disability Sport and the Politics of Development

While recognizing the increasingly pluralist nature of the development process, states through public policy, continue to provide the frame of reference through which development activity takes place. In that sense international development assistance programmes are generally informed and directed by domestic and foreign policy concerns of donor states (e.g. Noel and Therien, 1995; Humanitarian Policy Group, 2001). In the context of disability, as inclusion and disability rights have moved up the domestic political agenda of Western Liberal Democracies, a moral imperative for responding to the needs of people with disabilities internationally, through development assistance has been created. Contributing to this is the response of international organizations such as the UN to the rapidly increasing numbers of people who are disabled as a result of a range of regional conflicts such as Cambodia, the Balkans, Sri Lanka, North Africa and the Middle East. These factors, combined with the organizational objectives of key international disability sports federations that have recognized the challenges such a phenomena presents, have provided a new momentum for providing assistance with the development of sport for people with disabilities. At the same time, a number of recent disability sport-in-development initiatives have highlighted the difficulties that result from cultural tensions between donor organizations and recipients.

International Diplomacy and the Olympic Movement

This chapter places the debate about so-called Olympic diplomacy in the wider context of developments in diplomatic practice. The chapter considers contending arguments concerning the characteristics of diplomatic discourse and relates these to recent developments in diplomatic practice. In particular, it considers contrasting interpretations of the role of the state and explores how these contribute to an understanding of the activities of non-state and sub-state organizations in interest representation and the pursuit of collective interests. Addressing the conceptual debate, the chapter explores challenges faced when attempting to explain the operation of diplomacy in the new global environment, particularly the emergence of new actors in the diplomatic frame. It locates discourse on diplomacy within the wider body of International Relations literature, as writers bring together personal reflections on diplomatic practice with evolving theories on the behaviour of international actors. A consideration of the diffusion of diplomatic discourse and its articulation through the so-called Multi-Stakeholder model is introduced as a way of exploring new interpretations of the behaviour of traditional and emerging actors in the diplomatic frame. The key characteristics of the Olympic Movement are then identified, before the chapter moves to consider the development of diplomatic discourse in the context of the Olympic Games.

Diplomacy and the Olympic Bid

The process of bidding for the Olympic Games now entails intensive diplomatic activity by a range of actors within the Olympic Movement, formal state diplomacy channels and through a wide range of local and regional stakeholders. At the same time, concerns regarding the integrity of the Movement have resulted in procedural changes – for example those initiated by the IOC 2000 Commission in the wake of controversy surrounding the Salt Lake City bid for the 2002 Winter Olympics – that ostensibly limit the scope of organizing committees and related organizations (state and non-state) to use more unorthodox lobbying initiatives. This chapter examines the institutionalization of the bidding process and the development of diplomatic engagement as a tool for pursuing the objectives of those involved in the bid. In this, it re-visits the characteristics of diplomacy broadly defined, as a process that involves a range of actors engaged in interest representation, in varying relationships with the state. It suggests that an assessment of ‘bid diplomacy’ is helpful when considering the wider issue of how sub-state, state, regional and international organizations interface through (multi-layered) diplomatic discourse. Furthermore, it provides the basis for questioning the dichotomy between foreign and domestic policy evident in much political commentary. Through its British case study, the chapter considers how diplomatic factors can contribute to both failed and successful bids. The case study ends with an introduction to key diplomatic issues relating to bidding for the 2012 Olympic Games (this issue is considered in more detail in Chapter 9). The chapter then briefly considers the direction of diplomatic discourse in relation to bidding for future Games.