Sport and Democracy in the Ancient and Modern Worlds

Explores the relationship between sport and democratization using sociological and historical methodologies and case studies of ancient Greece and nineteenth-century Britain.

Paul Christesen (Author)

9781107012691, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 15 October 2012

324 pages, 15 b/w illus. 2 maps 7 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.58 kg

“Christesen’s broad and insightful study systematically examines whether ancient and modern sport are fundamentally the same or different, and how broad participation in sport assists the growth of democracy. Anyone interested in the social and political significance of ancient and modern sport should read this erudite but accessible book.” –Donald G. Kyle, University of Texas at Arlington

This book explores the relationship between sport and democratization. Drawing on sociological and historical methodologies, it provides a framework for understanding how sport affects the level of egalitarianism in the society in which it is played. The author distinguishes between horizontal sport, which embodies and fosters egalitarian relations, and vertical sport, which embodies and fosters hierarchical relations. Christesen also differentiates between societies in which sport is played and watched on a mass scale and those in which it is an ancillary activity. Using ancient Greece and nineteenth-century Britain as case studies, Christesen analyzes how these variables interact and finds that horizontal mass sport has the capacity to both promote and inhibit democratization at a societal level. He concludes that horizontal mass sport tends to reinforce and extend democratization.

Preface
1. Introduction
2. Key terms and concepts
3. Previous work positing a causal relationship between sport and democratization
4. Congruence between society and sport
5. Sport as a school for democracy
6. Sport as an impediment to democratization
7. Studying the cumulative effect of horizontal mass sport on democratization
8. Sport and society in early iron-age Greece
9. Sport and society in sixth- and fifth-century BCE Greece
10. Sport and democratization in sixth- and fifth-century BCE Greece
11. Sport and society in Britain from 1800 to 1840
12. Sport and society in Britain from 1840 to 1870
13. A quick trip to the continent: sport in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Germany
14. Sport and society in Britain from 1870 to 1900
15. Sport and democratization in nineteenth-century Britain
16. Mass sport in the United States
17. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Political structures: democracy [JPHV], History: earliest times to present day [HBL]