The Politics of Sport：Community, Mobility, Identity

Sport is an essential part of community structure, membership and identity. Whether on the field of play, in stadia, or on the streets, sport has consistently brought together disparate individuals to share culture, values and memories. Nowadays these relationships are being rewritten through the effects of global socio-economic practices, the interventions of government, the impact of cultural imperialism and, at the local level, through the actions of individuals and new constituencies that are emerging in response. Furthermore, this generates discourse on matters of regional and national identity.

This themed issue presents a range of essays that examine the relationship between sport and society through the conceptual lenses of community, mobility and identity. Drawing upon insights from contemporary history and current political phenomena from leading academic specialists in the field, the issue addresses cross-cutting themes such as loyalty and allegiance, migration and integration, identity and collective memory, and the politics of resistance and change, which will be of interest to the political scientist, the contemporary historian and sport scholar alike.

This book was previously published as a special edition of the journal Sport in Society.

Paul Gilchrist is Research Fellow in Sport and Leisure Cultures at the University of Brighton. His research interests are in the cultural politics of sport and leisure, in particular the politics of heroism in sport. He is joint convenor of the Political Studies Association’s sport and politics specialist study group.

Russell Holden is the Founder and Director of In the Zone Sport and Politics Consultancy. His organisation offers an insight into the complexities of sport, wholeheartedly embracing the connection between sport and politics. He is also a visiting lecturer at Southampton Solent University.