NaDiRa short study: Racism in sports promotion

Project team:

• Lara Kronenbitter
• Michaela Hochmuth 

- - -

Project description:

The short project investigated colonial thought patterns and representations in sports promotion programmes. The starting point of the analysis is that sport is often portrayed positively as an "engine of integration". Based on postcolonial as well as decolonial approaches, the study deals with the impact of colonial continuities, especially in the form of stereotypical representations and prejudices.

Results:

Colonial 'knowledge' continues to have an impact in organised sport in Germany today. The study of policy papers, qualitative interviews, visual material as well as podcasts shows that colonial representations and othering processes exist in sports funding programmes. "Othering" means that persons are represented as "foreign" and "different" from one's own self.

Surprising insights:

We found it remarkable that sport is consistently connoted positively as a "driver of integration" and that racism is addressed very little.

Significance for practice:

The results of the short study, in conjunction with the results of the short study on racist stacking in elite sport, could initiate a sports association, socio-political and academic debate on organised sport in Germany - precisely because they reveal subtle, structural forms of racism in their colonial continuity that have so far been addressed little or not at all.

Short studies in preparation for the Racism Monitor:

In order to prepare a comprehensive racism monitor, DeZIM called on scholars from the DeZIM research community in 2020 to develop innovative study ideas. These should extend existing research projects, pursue new and innovative approaches or build an infrastructure to research racism. By 2021, more than 120 researchers at the six locations of the DeZIM research community had conducted a total of 34 short studies. These are divided into six thematic priorities:

• Health system
• Education system and labour market
• Institutional racism
• Dealing with experiences of racism
• Participation and the media
• Racist ideologies and attitudes