Sport and Nationalism: Theoretical Perspectives aims to advance the academic study of the interconnections between sport and nationalism by, firstly, reviewing the current ‘state of play’ in this field of study and, secondly, highlighting the potential for the development of future theoretically-informed analysis of the relationship between sport, nationalism and national identity.
This book offers a critical appraisal of the utility of various theoretical concepts used to explore the nature of contemporary nationalism when applied to the specific topic of sport. Bringing together a range of contemporary academics in this field of study, it offers an opportunity to showcase contrasting theoretical positions on this topic. Furthermore, the central focus of the book regarding extended application of theories of nationalism to the field of sport provides an opportunity for novel and critical contributions to this field of study.
This book will be beneficial to students, researchers and professionals with an interest in sport and in the relationship between sport, politics and nationalism. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Sport in Society.
Introduction: Sport, nationalism, and the importance of theory 1. Sport, British national identities and the land: reflections on primordialism 2. Soccer, the Saarland, and statehood: win, loss, and cultural reunification in post-war Europe 3. Challenges and complexities of imagining nationhood: the case of Hong Kong’s naturalized footballers 4. Banal Europeanism? Europeanisation of football and the enhabitation of a Europeanised football fandom 5. Norbert Elias’s concept of the ‘drag-effect’: implications for the study of the relationship between national identity and sport 6. ’I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose’. Theorising on the deservedness of migrants in international football, using the case of Mesut Özil 7. Building American Supermen? Bernarr MacFadden, Benito Mussolini and American fascism in the 1930s 8. Sport and the ‘national Thing’: exploring sport’s emotive significance 9. Everyday bordering. Theoretical perspectives on national ‘others’ in sport and leisure time physical activity 10. Analysing British Asian national sporting affiliations post-London 2012 11. Hegemony, domination and opposition: Fluctuating Korean nationalist politics at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang 12. They are not ‘Team New Zealand’ or the ‘New Zealand’ Warriors! An exploration of pseudo-nationalism in New Zealand sporting franchises 13. Nation as a product of resistance: introducing post-foundational discourse analysis in research on ultras’ nationalism 14. Guerrilla patriotism and mnemonic wars: cursed soldiers as role models for football fans in Poland
Stuart Whigham is Senior Lecturer in Sport, Coaching and Physical Education at Oxford Brookes University, UK. His research interests revolve around the sociology and politics of sport, with a particular interest in the study of national identity, nationalism and sport; the politics of sport and sporting events; the politics of the Commonwealth Games; the sociology and politics of Scottish sport; and, sport and the Scottish diaspora.
