A comprehensive volume, unique in the field of Olympic and Paralympic studies

Björn Sandahl
Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm

The Routledge Handbooks are probably a familiar sight for most academics. They are usually identified by their brick size appearance and black and red signature covers. By now a great number of handbooks have been published, covering fields from anthropology to life sciences. These handbooks usually gather scholars in their respective field who contribute to a themed volume in a particular field. And now the time has come for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be the subject of a new handbook publication from Routledge.

I initially want to make clear that this is not a traditional review. The reason for this is simple. There is just no way one can write a review that covers the extensive contents of this volume. Over almost five hundred very densely printed pages it contains a total of no less than 37 themed articles (see the Table of Content below). Thus, I shall restrict myself to a brief presentation of the comments and a few principal remarks about the handbook’s structure.

The volume is divided into four main parts. The first part focuses on issues related to the athletes themselves with articles focusing on athletes’ rights and athletes with disabilities and HBTQ-athletes, but also on the question of nationality in the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The second part focuses on the Games as a business. Here we find several articles focusing on sponsorship, marketing, and the broadcasting rights during the games. In part three, the focus is directed towards the topic of governance with various articles that cover the evolution of governance in both the Olympic and Paralympic movements, as well as articles on autonomy, National Olympic Committees, international sports federations and WADA and governance of anti-doping. Finally, the volume’s fourth part revolves around socio-cultural and political issues. This part is also somewhat more sprawling than the others, not only focusing on obvious themes such as social development and human rights, but also on health, arts and culture, and the Olympic educational programmes.

The module-based structure also means that the handbook is easy to update, and it will likewise be possible to add new chapters, and thereby increasing its longevity.

This brief survey of the contents reveals not only the plight of the reviewer but also brings to light the broad approach of the handbook and the numerous subjects covered. It should be noted though, that the perspective for the most part is contemporary and that while certain chapters follow a historic chain of events regarding the subject of that particular article, the handbook contains no common historical framework of the development of the Olympic movement. Those pursuing knowledge of the history of the Olympic movement need to look elsewhere.

This also raises the question of the consequences of the chosen structure of the handbook. The handbook aims to have an interdisciplinary focus and chooses the article structure with several authors over a joint narrative. This is of course the current trend due to the publishing terms in an international journal based scientific community. It is also one of the handbooks strengths. By choosing this path the reader is introduced to a broad field of subjects contributed by respected scholars in the field. The module-based structure also means that the handbook is easy to update, and it will likewise be possible to add new chapters, and thereby increasing its longevity. I would not be surprised if we during the upcoming years will see several new editions as the Olympic and Paralympic movement continues to evolve.

There are caveats with this approach though, which becomes obvious while reading the handbook from front to back. Being in practice an anthology, the narrative is challenged by the conditions set by the chosen structure. With 37 articles by different scholars, every chapter is in effect an island of its own with its own character and structure. This also means that there is limited spill-over between different texts. I had, for instance, looked forward to find a summarizing chapter for each of the four parts mentioned above, where the different contributions would be analysed and where general conclusions would be presented about, for instance the Olympic movement as a business. Such chapters are sadly not included in the handbook.

So, who should feel compelled to read The Routledge Handbook of the Olympic and Paralympic Games? Well, the broad approach means there is something for everybody here. There is no question that the handbook serves as a rich introduction to the field of Olympic and Paralympic studies and thus should be of great interest to students or the interested general public wanting to indulge in a particular query or in the field as a whole. I shall not be surprised if the handbook becomes the preferred choice as course literature at college level academic studies. I, at least, have not found any other examples of such a comprehensive volume focusing on this subject.

Copyright © Björn Sandahl 2024