Simon C. Darnell – författare

This book focuses on the major social and political forces that have shaped the ways in which sport has been understood, organized, and contested in an effort to engender social change.

Sport and physical activity are now regularly used to promote social and economic development, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, on an international scale. The emergence of the ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector, comprised of governments, NGOs, sport organizations and others, reveals a high level of institutionalization of this activity, while SDP now constitutes an important element of the scholarly analysis of sport.

This volume analyses and critically discusses the central elements of, and research issues within, the field of SDP and also provides a series of case studies (substantive and geographic) of key research. It is the most holistic and far-reaching text published on this topic to date. Featuring multidisciplinary perspectives from world-leading researchers and practitioners from around the world, the book covers a wide range of topics, including SDP structures, policies and funding streams, how SDP relates to human rights, social exclusion and corporate social responsibility, SDP and gender, SDP and disability, SDP and health, SDP and homelessness, and SDP and the environment.

The Handbook of Sport for Development and Peace is a vital resource for researchers, students and educators in the fields of sports studies, physical education, sport for development and peace, sport-based youth development, sport and politics, sociology of sport, and sport policy.

Sport and physical activity are now regularly used to promote social and economic development, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, on an international scale. The emergence of the ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector, comprised of governments, NGOs, sport organizations and others, reveals a high level of institutionalization of this activity, while SDP now constitutes an important element of the scholarly analysis of sport.

This volume analyses and critically discusses the central elements of, and research issues within, the field of SDP and also provides a series of case studies (substantive and geographic) of key research. It is the most holistic and far-reaching text published on this topic to date. Featuring multidisciplinary perspectives from world-leading researchers and practitioners from around the world, the book covers a wide range of topics, including SDP structures, policies and funding streams, how SDP relates to human rights, social exclusion and corporate social responsibility, SDP and gender, SDP and disability, SDP and health, SDP and homelessness, and SDP and the environment.

The Handbook of Sport for Development and Peace is a vital resource for researchers, students and educators in the fields of sports studies, physical education, sport for development and peace, sport-based youth development, sport and politics, sociology of sport, and sport policy.

Over the past two decades, scholars and practitioners have taken a keen interest in the field of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP). These efforts have largely focused on and debated the merits of sport as a tool for development, diplomacy, and peacebuilding in under-resourced, underdeveloped, and conflict regions. Making sense of the positive contributions that sport can offer to such complex and multi-faceted issues requires understanding the various connections and meanings that individuals and communities ascribe to their sporting experiences. This book offers a unique outlet for research that engages with, rather than makes claims about, individuals and communities around the world. Diverse, contemporary, and thought-provoking examples of qualitative methods in the study of SDP are detailed, along with rich, meaningful, and provocative insights from these studies.

Readers are invited to think critically about the fields of enquiry, philosophical underpinnings, and methodologies utilised, as well as the audiences engaged and topics explored. We hope readers will join us in considering how these chapters can push the SDP field into more rigorous, methodologically innovative, and diverse approaches to research and evaluation, while also engaging with actors who are still often spoken for or about, rather than with. This book was originally published as a special issue of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health.