Sport, peacemaking and conflict resolution: a contextual analysis and modelling of the sport, development and peace sector

Abstract

In recent years, a wide variety of organizations (notably the UN and nongovernmental organizations) have used sport as an interventionist tool to nurture peacemaking across divided communities. This paper examines and theorizes these peacemaking initiatives across the expanding ‘sport, development and peace’ (SDP) sector. I begin by locating SDP projects within their historical contexts, and as significant elements within the emerging ‘global civil society’. I then set out three ideal-type models of SDP project; namely, the ‘technical’, ‘dialogical’, and ‘critical’. Each model is examined through a set of common social heuristics, such as its core objectives and paradigmatic methods. The models may be employed to analyse other peacemaking and development fields. The first two models are most influential among existing SDP projects; the potential benefits of the ‘critical’ model are also outlined.