This is the first book to focus on indigenous, traditional and folk sports and sporting cultures. It examines the significance of sporting cultures that have survived the emergence and diffusion of western sports and have carved out a unique position not only in spite of, but also in response to, modernity. Presenting case studies from around the world, including from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Oceania, the book draws on multi-disciplinary work from sociology, anthropology, history, cultural studies and political science, exploring key themes in the social sciences including nationalism, identity, decolonisation and gender. From Turkish oil wrestling, Kabbadi in South Asia and Iroquois lacrosse, to wushu and sumo in East Asia, these sporting practices continue to capture the indigenous imagination on the margins of the western hegemonic sport complex. Situated in the fissures between the local and the global, the archaic and the modern, and between ritual and record, they inhabit a liminal space of transformation as they assume new cultural and political meanings, offering important perspectives on the complexities, challenges and contradictions of modernity. This is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport, indigenous studies, anthropology, social and cultural history, or globalisation.

The Politics of the Olympics: A Survey provides information on and analysis of the relationship between politics and the Olympic Games. It is argued and demonstrated throughout the book that sport and politics have been and are intimately connected and nowhere is this relationship more apparent than in the Olympic Games. The essay chapters, including an editorial introduction, are written by a variety of academic experts. They focus on the politics of the Olympic movement, the politics of hosting the Games, the political implications of performance enhancement, and gender, terrorism and physical impairment within the Olympic context. The remaining chapters are case studies that are specific to certain countries or regions - Germany during the rise to power of National Socialism, Eastern Europe in the Cold War era, South Korea and Taiwan. Each chapter is accompanied by a select bibliography. The A-Z Glossary provides up-to-date and concise information on famous Olympians, presidents of the International Olympic Committee, specific events, boycotts and demonstrations - each of which has been politically significant in the history of the Games. Entries are cross-referenced for ease of use. A map of the venues for the Olympic Games is also included.

Sport and Secessionism examines how sporting cultures reflect, inform and sometimes frustrate secessionist movements around the world. Investigating a wide range of cases, the book explores key themes including nationalism, nation building, state-region antagonisms, independence movements, identity and ethnic politics, sovereignty and autonomy processes, all through the lens of sport. Sports are uniquely positioned to shed light on secessionist politics due to their pervasiveness in society, and their ability to absorb, reflect and produce political projections. The book presents analyses of a wide range of geographical, cultural and political contexts in which sports are deployed to pursue regional independence, or greater sovereignty and autonomy, and explores the dual processes of sub-national identity construction and state sovereignty deconstruction. The book includes fourteen cases from such diverse parts of the world as Ireland, Taiwan, Turkey, Catalonia, Biafra, Canada and the UK, among others. Offering a unique perspective on an important geopolitical issue, this book is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport and politics, the sociology of sport, political science, political geography, nationalism studies or international history.

Sport and Secessionism examines how sporting cultures reflect, inform and sometimes frustrate secessionist movements around the world. Investigating a wide range of cases, the book explores key themes including nationalism, nation building, state-region antagonisms, independence movements, identity and ethnic politics, sovereignty and autonomy processes, all through the lens of sport. Sports are uniquely positioned to shed light on secessionist politics due to their pervasiveness in society, and their ability to absorb, reflect and produce political projections. The book presents analyses of a wide range of geographical, cultural and political contexts in which sports are deployed to pursue regional independence, or greater sovereignty and autonomy, and explores the dual processes of sub-national identity construction and state sovereignty deconstruction. The book includes fourteen cases from such diverse parts of the world as Ireland, Taiwan, Turkey, Catalonia, Biafra, Canada and the UK, among others. Offering a unique perspective on an important geopolitical issue, this book is fascinating reading for anybody with an interest in sport and politics, the sociology of sport, political science, political geography, nationalism studies or international history.

Sport is frequently considered to be an aspect of popular culture that is, or should be, untainted by the political. However, there is a broad consensus among academics that sport is often at the heart of the political and the political is often central to sport. From the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany to the civil unrest that preceded the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, sport and politics have remained symbiotic bedfellows. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics goes further than any other book in surveying the complex, embedded relationships between sport and politics. With sections addressing ideologies, nation and statehood, corporate politics, political activism, social justice, and the politics of sports events, it introduces the conceptual foundations that underpin our understanding of the sport-politics nexus and examines emergent issues in this field of study. Including in-depth case studies from North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, this is an essential reference for anybody with an interest in the social scientific study of sport.

Despite a widely held, and not entirely erroneous, view that the cultures of East and Southeast Asia commonly favour the mind over the body or, at least mental activity rather than physical endeavour, this collection of essays sheds light on the wide range of diverse ways in which sport and body cultures feature in that part of the world. Contributors to the collection work in many different countries but are united in their shared interest in increasing our understanding of the social role of sport and body cultures which is manifest in their work. The countries that are discussed are Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and the former Netherlands New Guinea. Themes considered in these chapters are the implications of hosting sport events, the focus on sport and the body by a group of Buddhist monastics, belly dancing in the lives of women in Taiwan, the sociopolitical role of the scouting movement in a colonial setting, and issues relating to the functioning of sport clubs. The chapters were originally published in Asia Pacific Journal of Sport and Social Science.

The Politics of the Olympics: A Survey provides information on and analysis of the relationship between politics and the Olympic Games. It is argued and demonstrated throughout the book that sport and politics have been and are intimately connected and nowhere is this relationship more apparent than in the Olympic Games.
The essay chapters, including an editorial introduction, are written by a variety of academic experts. They focus on the politics of the Olympic movement, the politics of hosting the Games, the political implications of performance enhancement, and gender, terrorism and physical impairment within the Olympic context. The remaining chapters are case studies that are specific to certain countries or regions Germany during the rise to power of National Socialism, Eastern Europe in the Cold War era, South Korea and Taiwan. Each chapter is accompanied by a select bibliography.

The A-Z Glossary provides up-to-date and concise information on famous Olympians, presidents of the International Olympic Committee, specific events, boycotts and demonstrations each of which has been politically significant in the history of the Games. Entries are cross-referenced for ease of use.
A map of the venues for the Olympic Games is also included.

Despite a widely held, and not entirely erroneous, view that the cultures of East and Southeast Asia commonly favour the mind over the body or, at least mental activity rather than physical endeavour, this collection of essays sheds light on the wide range of diverse ways in which sport and body cultures feature in that part of the world. Contributors to the collection work in many different countries but are united in their shared interest in increasing our understanding of the social role of sport and body cultures which is manifest in their work. The countries that are discussed are Indonesia, the People's Republic of China, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and the former Netherlands New Guinea. Themes considered in these chapters are the implications of hosting sport events, the focus on sport and the body by a group of Buddhist monastics, belly dancing in the lives of women in Taiwan, the sociopolitical role of the scouting movement in a colonial setting, and issues relating to the functioning of sport clubs. The chapters were originally published in Asia Pacific Journal of Sport and Social Science.

Sport is frequently considered to be an aspect of popular culture that is, or should be, untainted by the political. However, there is a broad consensus among academics that sport is often at the heart of the political and the political is often central to sport. From the 1936 Olympic Games in Nazi Germany to the civil unrest that preceded the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, sport and politics have remained symbiotic bedfellows. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics goes further than any other book in surveying the complex, embedded relationships between sport and politics. With sections addressing ideologies, nation and statehood, corporate politics, political activism, social justice, and the politics of sports events, it introduces the conceptual foundations that underpin our understanding of the sport-politics nexus and examines emergent issues in this field of study. Including in-depth case studies from North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia, this is an essential reference for anybody with an interest in the social scientific study of sport.

This is the first comprehensive study of sport in Taiwan to be published in English. It appears at a time when Taiwan has the attention of the global community to the greatest extent since the years following the creation of the People's Republic of China and the formation by the Chinese Nationalist Party of an alternative seat of government for the Republic of China in Taiwan's capital, Taipei. The story of sport in Taiwan is one of athletic achievements and political machinations with this island's athletes allowed to compete in international sport only in the name of Chinese Taipei. The book offers insights into the development, political uses, and current situation of sport in Taiwan, the contribution made by the island's indigenous peoples, the significance of physical activity initiatives, relations between Taiwan and the PRC, sports fandom, the role of the sports media, and gender, exercise, and health. As is so often the case with other parts of the world, sport in Taiwan provides a lens through which the authors examine a range of political and social issues and thereby help readers to gain a better understanding of this interesting, vibrant, and politically sensitive island. "This book is a comprehensive, critical, and timely piece of scholarship that makes a valuable and unique contribution to both the field and our understanding of the distinct and precarious status of Taiwan as a culture and society. Drawing on a range of academic disciplines, theories and methods, the fascinating assembly of essays cover topics spanning indigenous sport, racialised sporting bodies, sport policy and, sport and international relations. The editors, Bairner, Chiang, and Chen, have skilfully blended a collection that uses sport as a strategic lens to provide insights into the complex cultural, economic, political and diplomatic spheres within which Taiwan carefully negotiates its sovereignty and identity amidst an international community that largely spectates from the geo-political side-lines. This is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the significance of sport in Taiwan but also the significance of Taiwan in the world." -Steve Jackson, Otago University, New Zealand

This book brings together the work of a numbers of scholars who have an interest in the historical, social and political significance of sport in Ireland. It contributes not only to wider debates about Irish history, society and politics and but also to the steadily growing body of work devoted to understanding the role of sport in the shaping of modern societies. In terms of history, the book takes the reader from the late nineteenth century and the origins of modern sport, through the formation of the Irish Free State to the divisions that have so adversely affected Northern Ireland since the late 1960s. The book also allows readers to consider the relationship between sport, national identities and gender in a contemporary Irish context together with the role that sport can play in terms of conflict and conflict resolution.

In Northern Ireland every significant aspect of life is bound up with the politics of division. Sport is no exception. Politics - the politics of partition - is integral to the rivalry between clubs, and indeed to the very choice of games to be played and watched. After the church, the most important sources of communal division are education, physical location and sports preference. While the importance of education and community segmentation has been recognized, the complex role which sport plays in civil and political relations in the province has been neglected. By its very nature sport provides a focus for sectarian identification and a forum for confrontation which can exacerbate conflict. State-sponsored attempts to use sport and recreation to diffuse the volatile political situation seriously under-estimate the important significance of these areas of popular culture in defining the boundaries between two warring factions. This book, the first examination of the political nature of sport and leisure in Northern Ireland, is the product of a number of years of experience and research into sport, leisure and socio-political relations in the province. It fulfils three overlapping functions: it's a book about the political sociology of sport in Northern Ireland; it's an addition to the literature of political sociology of Northern Ireland in general; finally it's an important contribution to the growing body of knowledge about sport and politics in general. The study is centred on an explanation of the relationship between the state of Northern Ireland and the forces which determine the shape and substance of its distinctive civil societies: sectarianism, ethnicity, nationalism and social class.