Norwegian sport for development and peace: donor discourse and local practice

Abstract

Sport as a method for development and peace has been a growing field in international and Norwegian development aid over the past decade. NGOs within the field form part of what has come to be defined as the “Sport for Development and Peace” (SDP) movement, with an ever-growing number of new actors. These NGOs have become an integrated part of the international development aid sector. Further, Norway has been one of the leading actors in the field of SDP, along with Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK. The topic of this thesis is the Norwegian commitment to SDP. The thesis examines this commitment from the early 1990s to the present day. The empirical focus is directed towards the two levels on which the Norwegian SDP apparatus exists: (a) the national donor level in Norway and (b) the local level on which Norwegian projects are implemented in practice. The first part of the thesis identifies the diversity of conceptions of SDP articulated at the national donor level and analyses the ideas, values and traditions these conceptions are built upon (e.g. the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF), the Norwegian Football Association, Judo for Peace, Right to Play Norway, Karanba, and Mission Alliance). The second part examines the extent to which the “Norwegian” conceptions on SDP are represented and articulated where Norwegian-financed projects are being implemented in practice – in the local communities of recipient countries. NIF’s commitment to development in Zimbabwe is presented as a case. What happens when Norwegian and local ideas and values intersect, and are there different perceptions on the use of sport as a method for development? Hence, the thesis looks at the relationship between Norwegian donors and the recipients of Norwegian SDP.

Paper I: Hasselgård, A. (accepted for publication, forthcoming 2015). Norwegian sports aid. Exploring the Norwegian ‘Sport for Development and Peace’ Discourse. Forum for Development Studies.

Paper II: Straume, S. & Hasselgård, A. ( 2013). ‘They need to get the feeling that these are their ideas’: Trusteeship in Norwegian Sport for Development and Peace to Zimbabwe. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 6 (1), 1-18.

Paper III: Hasselgård, A. & Straume, S. (2014). Sport for development and peace policy discourse and local practice: Norwegian sport for development and peace to Zimbabwe. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. doi:10.1080/19406940.2014.890635.

Paper IV: Hasselgård, A. & Selliaas, A. (2014). Norwegian Human Rights Organisations and Olympic Games. Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, 5, 1-24.