Re-Assembling Sport for Development and Peace Through Actor Network Theory: Insights from Kingston, Jamaica

Some recent appraisals of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) research have found it to be deterministic and ideological, and lacking sophistication and specificity with regards to theory and method. Notably, such criticisms dovetail with the foundations of Actor Network Theory (ANT). Based on fie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of sport journal 2018-06, Vol.35 (2), p.89-97
Main Authors: Darnell, Simon C., Giulianotti, Richard, David Howe, P., Collison, Holly
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Actor-network theory
Peace
Sports
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Summary:Some recent appraisals of Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) research have found it to be deterministic and ideological, and lacking sophistication and specificity with regards to theory and method. Notably, such criticisms dovetail with the foundations of Actor Network Theory (ANT). Based on fieldwork in Kingston, Jamaica, we draw on ANT to ‘re-assemble’ the understanding of SDP programs by examining their constitutive elements. The results illustrate the connections necessary for SDP to cohere, and the range of actors in the field, including international funders, funds themselves, and concepts regarding sport’s development utility. Investigating these assemblages facilitates a non-deterministic understanding of the ways in which sport is mobilized in the service of development and peace, while allowing for a nuanced and empirically sound assessment of power and agency.
ISSN:0741-1235
1543-2785
DOI:10.1123/ssj.2016-0159