Sport and Politics
Authors: Clift Bryan , Bustad Jacob J. 
Published: November 2019

Since the early 1980s, the study of sport and politics has developed into a robust area of academic scholarship. Despite this growth, sport is often considered a phenomenon not associated with politics. Coupled with the popular perception that sport is too trivial or insignificant for serious research, sport and politics are not often connected or given significant consideration. One impetus for scholars of sport and politics is to demonstrate the important relationship between the two. As it has advanced, the study of the relationship between sport and politics has become an interdisciplinary endeavor. No one home of sport and politics exists. Decentralized, its study appears in a diversity of disciplines, notably within and in relation to cultural studies, economics, history, kinesiology, literature, geography, management, media and communications, political science, sociology, or urban studies. Political science alone is comprised of a range of fields and subfields (e.g., administration, policy, political theory, political economy, international relations, etc.). Acknowledging this diversity, both sport and politics come with definitional challenges. Sport is often associated with a structured organized activity that is goal-oriented, competitive, ludic, and physical. But commentators, critics, and everyday usage of the term often conflate it with exercise and physical activity, which are arguably less competitive and structured activities. Politics, too, can be taken in two common, and distinctive yet overlapping conceptual frames: The first involves the people, activities, processes, and decisions in the practices of governing a defined populace. The second takes a broader sense of the power relations and dynamics between people, which goes well beyond the strict understanding of institutions and government. Within the field, there is contention around whether or not the study of sport and politics should remain focused on practices of government alone, or if the latter conceptualization should be included. Regardless of where one sits on this issue, the study of sport and politics does indeed incorporate cross-cutting ideas of “sport” and “politics.” Early research on sport and politics focused on the more governmental side of politics, examining international relations, policy, diplomacy, or political ideology within specific countries, cities, or locales. This work has flourished since the early 1980s. Simultaneously, research foci pushed the boundaries of sport and politics by including broader understandings of power. Sporting organizations, teams, federations, international organizations, events, athletes, and celebrities, as well as exercise and physical activity practices, have been brought together with a range of politicized inquiry in relation to, for example, activism, conflict resolution, disability, environmental issues, ethnicity, health, human rights, gambling, gender, metal health, peace, pleasure, race, security, sexuality, social justice, social responsibility, urbanism, or violence. As the many works cited herein attest, the study of sport and politics is a diverse and growing focus of scholarship.