The art of balance: Indigenous sport governance between traditional government and self-governance
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Permanent lenke
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3135196Utgivelsesdato
2024-06-01Metadata
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Originalversjon
International Review for the Sociology of Sport. 2024, 59(4), Side 579-597. 10.1177/10126902231217185Sammendrag
The governance of Indigenous people is in many contexts a combination of political ambitions to promote self-governance, and more traditional policies and governance practices. These combinations often carry unintended contradictions and exclusionary processes. In this article, we investigate the consequences of one such contradiction: the aspiration for self-determination and self-governance on the one hand and the aspiration for broader political influence in decisions about resources to Sámi sport on the other. Since legitimation of governance structures and practices is essential for their overall functionality, we constructed the research question: What strategies are used to legitimise the policy and governance practices of Sámi sport? To explore this research question, we employed Sámi sport in Finland as an empirical case. Results show that authorisation as a legitimation strategy is prominent and used at institutional and individual levels. Moral evaluation as strategy is based on authoritative actors’ personal choice. Inclusion and integration in mainstream policy is seen as a rational legitimation strategy, which is supported by narratives where smallness and uniqueness are dominant.