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Football's contribution to international order: the ludic and festive reproduction of international society by world societal actors

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2021

Bernd Bucher Open the ORCID record for Bernd Bucher [Opens in a new window]  and
Julian Eckl Open the ORCID record for Julian Eckl [Opens in a new window]
Bernd Bucher*
Affiliation:
Franklin University Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland
Julian Eckl
Affiliation:
University of St. Gallen (HSG), St. Gallen, Switzerland and University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
*
Corresponding author: Bernd Bucher, E-mail: bbucher@fus.edu
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Abstract

In the English School, the relationship between international and world society has recently received increasing attention – conceptually and empirically. Adding to this developing literature, we study how world societal actors not only serve as normative counterpoints to international society or function as norm-entrepreneurs, but decisively contribute to its reproduction. Going beyond the common preoccupation with actor types, we focus on practices that are performed on the international stage. We examine the role which world sport events, especially FIFA's World Cup and the infrastructure of football, play for international society. Building on Wight, we conceptualize world sport events as a (world societal actor driven) derivative primary institution of international society, which is embedded within the particularly hybrid master primary institution of sites and festivals. We find that world sport events allow for the ludic and festive reproduction of key primary institutions (like sovereignty, territoriality, and nationalism), while they highlight how members of international society compete on the basis of shared norms and values. Naturalizing world order as international order, they make international society emotionally experienceable as feasible and desirable at a global level. In performing world sport events, world societal actors uphold rather than challenge international society.

Keywords

English Schoolinternational societyfootballsites and festivalsinternational practice theoryprimary and secondary institutionsworld society
Type
Research Article
Information
International Theory , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , July 2022 , pp. 311 - 337
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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