Sociology - Sociology and sport for development and peace

This chapter explores the contributions of sociological approaches to the study of the ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ (SDP) sector. The chapter is organised into seven main parts. First, I outline the centrality of critical sociological standpoints to the study of SDP. In the following three sections, I explore critical sociological approaches to social divisions in SDP with respect to postcolonialism, race, ethnicity, and Indigenous peoples, gender and sexuality, and disability. In part five, I examine a political sociological approach to SDP, centred on the theory of ‘global civil society’. Sixth, I consider other sociological approaches, notably from macro and micro standpoints. Finally, I examine social capital as a key research area which illustrates the variety of sociological approaches to SDP. Overall, the focus is largely on theory-based approaches drawn from sociology, which enable investigation of SDP.