Global Markets and Global Impact of Sports

This book is a concept we use to explain the invasive and pervasive role of sport in global society and in each country around the world. From the origins of modern sports to today, sports have become more and more commercial, global, and universally understood as important parts of economies, cultures, and political debates. The 2018 thawing of relations on the Korean Peninsula, and between North Korea and the USA, can be attributed in part to the inclusive practices of the Winter Olympics; yet the Russian doping scandal and the ramifications from that suggest that a new Cold War in sport has emerged which is played out in social media as well as in diplomatic circles. Beyond the elite levels, however, sport is key to social identification and cultural capital building, and for social integration. Regardless of how we view sport, it is clear that it is a powerful social technology with the ability to transform society and influence political and economic debates. The chapters in this book were originally published in special issues in Sport in Society.

John Nauright is Chair and Professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion and Recreation at the University of North Texas, Denton, USA. He has published numerous and award-winning works on sport in global society. Sarah Zipp is a Lecturer in Sports Studies in the Faculty of Health Science and Sport at the University of Stirling, UK. Her work focuses on gender and development in sport.

Introduction - The twenty-first-century SportsWorld: global markets and global impact 1. Contested epistemology: theory and method of international sport studies 2. Revisiting Gustave Le Bon's crowd theory in light of present-day critique 3. The new sporting Cold War: implications of the Russian doping allegations for international relations and sport 4. Origin, diffusion and development of polo: an East to West cultural flow 5. Political economy and judo: the globalization of a traditional Japanese sport 6. Leveraging participation in Olympic sports: a call for experiential qualitative case study research 7. Boosting ice hockey in China: political economy, mega-events and community 8. An analysis of Glasgow's decision to bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games 9. Platform politics: sport events and the affordances of digital and social media 10. NBC's televised media portrayal of female athletes in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games: a critical feminist view 11. A destination development by building a brand image and sport event tourism: a case of Sport City USA 12. Sport for development with 'at risk' girls in St. Lucia