Editorial
Authors: Saunders John 
Published: December 2020

A mere two years ago International Sports Studies was celebrating its fortieth
anniversary. At that time, at the beginning of 2018, your editor was able to reflect on
the journey of our professional association – the International Society for Comparative
Physical Education and Sport (ISCPES). It started with a small, cohesive, and optimistic
group of physical education scholars from Europe and North America interested in
working across boundaries and exploring new international horizons. The group that
met in Borovets in 2017 on the eve of the society’s fortieth anniversary, represented a
wider range of origins. They were also more circumspect, tempered by their experience
in what had become, four decades later, a very much more complex competitive and
fragmented professional environment. Such a comparison seems almost to have
reflected a common journey, from the hope and optimism of youth to entry into the
challenges and responsibilities of mid adulthood. Yet from the perspective of
contemporary history, these last four decades seem generally to be viewed as having
been a time of unbroken human progress. Certainly, this is a defensible view when we
use technological and economic progress as the criterion. The nation of Indonesia
provides an excellent example of progress by these measures.
The world’s 10th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, and a
member of the G-20. Furthermore, Indonesia has made enormous gains in
poverty reduction, cutting the poverty rate by more than half since 1999, to
9.78% in 2020. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, Indonesia was able to maintain
a consistent economic growth, recently qualifying the country to reach upper
middle-income status.
The World Bank (www.worldbank.org/en/country/indonesia/overview)
Indeed, when we look at the economic growth charts of the world over the last
century, without exception they resemble a J curve with growth over the last half century
being particularly rapid. But, from time to time, we need to be reminded that human
existence is rather like a coin. Looking at the top side provides one picture but then,
when we turn the coin over, a totally different view presents itself. From time to time,
pictures find their way to our television screens that remind us that real challenges of
poverty are still faced by many today. Similarly, though we have talked about seventyfive
years of peace, the other side of the coin reveals that around the globe armed conflict
has continued remorselessly since the official ending of World War II in September 2nd
1945.
A visit to Wikipedia and its list of ongoing conflicts in the world will inform the
casual reader, that in the current or past calendar year there have been over 10,000 deaths
related to four major wars – in Afghanistan, the Yemen, Syria and Mexico. In addition,
eleven wars, eighteen ‘minor conflicts’ and fifteen ‘skirmishes’ have added to death and
misery for many around the world. I make these points in case those of us who are
fortunate enough to live in relatively stable, safe and prosperous environments, might
be tempted to become complacent and forget how much always needs to be done to
increase the welfare of our brothers and sisters throughout the world. Humankind’s end
of decade report needs to remind us that, if our progress has generally been steady, there
remains area where we still need to improve. Further we need to remember that wealth
and material prosperity are not the sole criteria for human well-being and happiness.
Quality of life needs to be measured by much more than Gross Domestic Product alone.
Such thoughts now seem to be suddenly highlighted, as we move into another new
decade. For virtually worldwide, it seems to as if the coin has suddenly been flipped. In
2018 we were looking forward with different expectations to those that we now have
since the start of 2020. At a time when the world has never been more interconnected,
we have been forcibly reminded that with that connectedness comes a level of risk.
There is a belief by some, that interconnectedness provides some sort of protection
against war and conflict and that trade relationships provide a rationale for peaceful
cooperation between the peoples of the world. However, it is that very
interconnectedness that today leaves us at greater risk to the ravages of the latest
pandemic to strike the world. Countries that have managed the CoVid19 virus most
successfully, have been those like New Zealand that have isolated themselves from
others and restricted movements and interactions both across and within borders.
Consequently, people in many different settings find themselves in lockdown and
working from home. This sudden restriction on interactions and movement, has
provided a unique opportunity for reflection by many. Stepping back from the frantic
pace of twenty first century lifestyle, though it has inevitably caused much concern
economically for many, has given others a chance to rediscover simpler pleasures of
previous ages. Pleasures such as the unhurried company of family and friends and the
chance to replace crowded commuting with leisurely walks around the local
neighbourhood. So, it has been that a number of voices have been pointing to this as a
unique opportunity to re-set our careers and our lifestyles. With this comes a chance to
re-examine core values and in particular question some of the drivers behind the
endlessly busy and often frentic approach to life that characterises our modern fast
changing world, with its ceaseless demand for us all to ‘keep up’ and ‘get ahead’.
It is then in a spirit of reset that I am pleased to introduce International Sports
Studies’ first special supplement. We take very seriously our mission of connecting
physical education and sport professionals around the world. It has made us very
conscious of the dangers of adopting a view on the world that is centred in the familiar
and our own back yards. Yet we all tend to slip into a view of life that seems to be driven
and reinforced by the big media and the loudest voices in an interconnected world.
Individuals chasing the dream of celebrity are easily recognisable from New Delhi to
Anchorage or from Nairobi to Sapporo. We seem forced to listen to them and their ideas
even when we wish to disassociate from them. In sport too it seems that in all corners
of the world, the superstars of football Messi, Ronaldo, Pogba, Bale are known wherever
the game is played. News and influence too often seem to flow from the places where
these same celebrities of screen and sporting fields are based. It is the streets and
recreation areas of Hollywood, Madrid and Turin, all comparatively restricted areas of
the globe, which are continuously brought to us all by the ubiquitous screens. Some of
the latest figures from the ITU, the Telecommunication Development Sector a
specialised United Nations agency, have estimated that at the end of 2019, 53.6 per cent
of the global population, or 4.1 billion people, were using the Internet (ITU, 2020). It is
a figure that continues to increase steadily as does the stretch of its influence.
The motivation behind this supplement focusing on studies in physical education
and sport within Indonesia, can be found in the origins of comparative physical
education and sport study. We can all learn by comparison with others and their
approaches to both similar and unique problems and challenges. It does not however
always make sense to limit ourselves to matching our situations with others for the sole
purpose of making scholarly comparisons. Often it makes more sense simply to visit
colleagues in another setting and examine in some depth their concerns and practices.
Such studies are called area studies and they involve illuminating what is occurring in
different settings in order to increase our own understanding and awareness.
Indonesia provides a special and important starting point for just such a study.
Located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia in the Indian and Pacific oceans, it is
an archipelago that lies across the Equator and spans a distance equivalent to one-eighth
of the Earth’s circumference. It is the world’s fourth largest country in terms of
population (Legge, 2020). It is a nation that appears modest in its demeanour and that
of its people yet has much to offer the rest of us, especially in terms of our common
professional interest. The purpose of volume 42e is to offer an opportunity for our
colleagues in Indonesia to speak to the global community and for the global community
to learn a little more about the work of their colleagues in Indonesia. It is the first of
what is intended to be a series within the tradition of comparative studies.
It has been a great pleasure and privilege to work with a special editorial team from
Indonesia in this project. Their details are briefly provided below. I commend to you the
work of this representative group of physical education and sports scholars. I invite you
to join us in lifting our heads above our own parapets and resetting our own perspectives
by reaching out and listening to a wider circle of colleagues from around the world. We
may not be able to travel to meet each other at this time but we can still interact and
share, as our responsibility as academics and professionals requires us to do.
John Saunders
Brisbane,
November 2020
References
ITU (2020) Statistics. Accessed from https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics?
Legge, J. D. (2020) Indonesia. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica. Accessed from
https://www.britannica.com/place/Indonesia