The Evolution of Violence Structures in Sports: From Colonialism to Asian-Oriented Capitalism

Abstract

The author adopted the postcolonial perspective to analyze how sport has affected the destruction of violence structures, the emancipation, and the voice of subalterns since the decolonization. Having summarized the imperial sports policy, the article introduces 4 major trends in sports after decolonization. Nationalization is described through the prism of Indonesian badminton, Moroccan football, and petanque in Pondicherry. Integration is illustrated by the participation of former colonies in the Olympic Movement, world football, and IOC statistics. Commercialization is exemplified by the growing influence of new actors, i.e., non-traditional states, non-governmental organizations, multinational companies and by the migration of African footballers, Indonesian badminton players and rugby players from Oceania. The rise of Asian countries is revealed by means of the analysis of rankings of the highest-paid female athletes and leading sports manufacturers, LPGA Tour statistics on players’ origins, the geography of international tournaments, and the case of subaltern athlete P. V. Sindhu. The researcher concludes that the growing number and the changing nature of violence structures keeps subaltern athletes in a dependent and vulnerable position, forcing them to follow the rules set by longstanding and emerging centers of power, both politically and economically.