Sport is more than play – it is a deeply political field, approached here through the lens of political institutions and governance in Germany and embedded in a comparative and international context, where decisions about funding, regulation, and representation reflect broader struggles over power, legitimacy, and inclusion.
The seminar is structured around the classic analytical triad of Polity, Politics, and Policy. In the first block (Polity), we examine the institutional framework of German sport, focusing on its corporatist traditions and the role of parliaments, parties, and elections – including how parties address sport in their manifestos and whether sporting success can influence voter behavior. The second block (Politics) shifts to actors, power, and conflicts, with a focus on media and political communication, lobbying and athlete voices, as well as corruption scandals such as the FIFA crisis or the ”Sommermärchen” surrounding the 2006 World Cup. In the third block (Policy), the focus turns to sport as a policy field, including debates on anti-doping regulation, the use of technology and equipment in elite performance, and the politically sensitive issue of gender verification and inclusion, with cases like Caster Semenya sparking global controversy – a controversy that has resurfaced at recent World Athletics events with renewed scrutiny on DSD (Difference of Sex Development) policies and sex testing practices. While these rules are often formulated by international sport federations, they are deeply embedded in political processes: governments co-shape anti-doping regimes through legislation and international treaties, parliaments debate funding and fairness, and parties bring broader questions of equality and human rights into the controversy over gender and inclusion.
Throughout the seminar, each session integrates a specific methodological focus through short snippets inspired by current debates in track and field. These examples – such as reaction-time thresholds in sprint starts to illustrate internal validity – serve as entry points that are then expanded to discussions across other sports, always linked to the session’s core themes. Building on this progression, students will carry out a small empirical fieldwork project, documented in a research logbook and presented in groups. The seminar concludes with a reflection on the wider role of sport in politics and society, including the relationship between sports clubs and populism in Germany.
