Review article
THE RECTANGLE OF SPORT, VIOLENCE, POLITICS AND SOCIETY: SCIENTIFIC INSIGHTS FROM EUROPE AND CROATIA
Dražen Lalić
; Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Ozren Biti
; Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to compare the Western European scientific insight into the relation between sport and violence in contemporary societies with the respective Croatian scientific insight. The point of departure for the comparison is the excellent evaluation of the available scientific research of this relation offered in the book of the French sociologists Bodin, Robéne and Héas Sport and Violence in Europe. They analyse the sociological, political science, psychological and other research of sport related violence, including those of its aspects that have been insufficiently recognized or neglected; they especially highlight the importance of understanding the violence of extremist sport fans for the understanding of the whole phenomenon. From 1980’s onwards the violence of sport fans is equally present in Croatia as in the countries of EU but in the last decade Croatia cannot stand comparison with the EU countries when it comes to the efficiency of the measures undertaken to prevent and bring an end to this type of violence. The authors of this paper claim that the respective research of Croatian sociologists, political scientists and others can stand comparison with those in the Western European countries as to their theoretical insight, applied methodology and the quality of interpretations. This is true, however, only regarding the research of manifest violence, and it does not entirely apply for research of latent violence.
Keywords
sport; violence; sport fans; politics; Europe; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
37890
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2009.
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