The ambiguities of development: implications for ‘development through sport’

Abstract

This essay brings the perspective of the academic sceptic to bear on Development Through Sport (DTS) – an area of rapid growth and burgeoning enthusiasm in the theory and practice of international development and organized sport respectively. It highlights some of the challenges and dangers of engaging in the development ‘enterprise’ for this comparatively new and hopeful field. While acknowledging the valuable contributions that may be made to development through sport, it identifies some core ambiguities in the idea and experience of development, and therefore some cautionary implications for those who come to development through this prism. Indeed, one of the key advantages of DTS advocates and actors is that they are latecomers to the development enterprise, with the opportunity to learn from the dangers and missteps that have befallen more ‘mainstream’ development practitioners through its post-Second World War history. Three key themes are explored: the ambiguous meanings and experiences of development; some of the core challenges they give rise to, particularly in the post-Structural Adjustment era of the late 1990s and beyond; and some key issues and possibilities for the DTS community in this context.

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