Sport for development and peacean exploration through mediated communication and digital methods

Resumen

“Sport for Development and Peace” (SDP) is a large global field in which sports, physical activities, and games are used to address non-sporting goals of social development and peacebuilding. The proliferation and acknowledgement of SDP organizations as enablers of sustainable development coincides with some fragmented evidence about the inequality in the field’s structure since some of them have fewer resources and are dependent on others. However, the scale of inequality is not known, and its analysis is complicated by the great diversity of stakeholders and practices, unclear boundaries of the field, and the lack of large-scale mapping of SDP and elaborated methodology for description of the global SDP structure. Relying on mediated communication and digital methods, this research reveals inequality in the structure of stakeholders and practices of the global SDP field in terms of organizational diversity and geopolitical location. The methodology of SDP research is enhanced by the use of hyperlink network analysis, web search engine data, and elaboration of a conceptual framework and model for definition of SDP boundaries. The results show an unbalanced distribution of varied types of SDP stakeholders. Also, type of organization is an important characteristic for understanding patterns of connections in the global SDP network. In general, the connections in the SDP network are very unevenly distributed, with clear-cut leaders and outsiders. Different types of organizations show varying capacities for leadership in the field, and geopolitical location is an important characteristic for explaining leadership patterns. Furthermore, the research analyses the ways to advance equality of opportunities for SDP stakeholders. Additionally, the effectiveness of mediated communication and digital methods for the description of the global SDP field is argued, and the advantages and difficulties of the methodology are discussed. Finally, a methodological ground for further empirical research is elaborated by clarifying SDP boundaries in a conceptual framework and providing a model with original set of differentiating criteria.