Processes of political, cultural, and social fragmentation: changes in the macro-environment of sport policy and management: c.1980–c.2022

Figures & data

Figure 1. Ideal typical representation of sport/cultural policy orientations.

Source: I Henry (2015b).

Table 1. Dimensions of political, cultural, social fragmentation: changes in the macro-environment of sport policy and management: c.980–c.2022.

Dimension	Nature of macro-environmental change	Implications for sport policy and management practice
International Relations System	From Bi-polar to Multi-polar Global System Increased complexity of the domain of international relations Increased sites of tension and conflict Increased flow of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers	International Sporting System – The 21st ‘Asian Century’: witnesses shifts in the centre of gravity of global sporting systems evidenced in: Increase in hosting of major events (Olympics, FIFA World Cups, F1 Grand Prix, etc.) in non-western locations; Growth of non-western investment in western sport business	Domestic Sports Policy Increased focus on assimilationist, market pluralist, multicultural and / or inter-cultural sports policy and provision
Modernization Processes	From Western Modernity to Multiple Modernities Diverse forms of social, cultural, and political organization evident in modernizing societies. Engaging with competing perspectives via public discourse to arrive at consensus (drawing on Habermas’s discourse ethics)	Accommodation of aspects of social, political and cultural diversity within modernizing societies, cultural heterogeneity rather than homogeneity – glocalization rather than globalization For example Al Wahaib’s account of sport and leisure lifestyles in a Muslim majority society (Kuwait) accommodates heterogeneity in some forms of religiosity (Muslim Liberals, and Islamic Reformists), while rejecting or failing to engage with others (Religious Conservatives and Political/jihadist Islam)
Political Ideologies	The Shift from Modern Political Ideologies to Populist Politics ‘Thick ideologies’ (e.g. socialism, neo-liberalism, conservatism, etc.) give way to the ‘thin’ populist ideology; Three types of populism emerge, cultural, socio-economic, and anti-establishment.	Forms taken involve combining populism with elements of thick ideologies to form right or left wing populist programmes. Sport is featured most clearly in (right wing) cultural populism in which proponents position themselves as defending ‘the people’ (defined as native members of the nation-state against non-native groups) against outsiders, (ethnic, religious, or migrant groups). Sport can be used by proponents to promote exclusionary identity politics, or by opponents to challenge such ideas (e.g. athletes ‘taking the knee’).
Public Discourse and the Production of Truth	Truth Claims Diminished in Populist Discourse Internet and social media (and in some cases print and broadcast) not subject to evaluation of standards of veracity and proof. Appeals to evidence-based objections to claims dismissed as fake news, or by assertion of unsubstantiated counterclaims. Foucauldian claims that reality is discursively constructed.	The focus of post-structuralist analysis is on the power of discourse – how rhetoric and argumentation are employed in the production of a particular world view; and the power over discourse – who controls the means of production of discourse and how do they use that control. Foucauldian analyses are predominantly concerned with how a claim to knowledge is constructed, how a case is implicitly or explicitly made, rather than with judging the truth value of competing claims. This is of only limited value in choosing between policy options in the real world. A reaction to what is perceived by some as a relativist position can be seen in the ‘evidence-based practice’ movement, and in the realist evaluation movement (R Pawson, 2006; Pawson & Tilley, 2004), as well as in critical realist ontology (Bhaskar, 1998; Fairclough, 2005).

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