Inside the black box: A micro-sociological analysis of sport for development

Abstract

Sport for development research increasingly seeks to move beyond a focus on evidence of sport for development outcomes to better understand the mechanisms and contexts that underpin these outcomes. Building on recent innovations in micro-sociology, which highlight the role of emotions and bodily entrainment in face-to-face interactions, this paper critically examines, and aims to progress, efforts to open the ‘black box’ of sport for development outcomes and impacts. The authors argue that the theoretical and methodological merits of radical micro-sociology, and interaction ritual theory in particular, enable important advances in the field of sport for development. The paper proposes micro-sociological questions and practical directions for sport for development research but also outlines the limitations of this approach.