Author ORCID Identifier
Derrick Charway: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3885-7520
Umair Asif: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6733-5428
Zohreh Abdollahkhani: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1206-0447
Mazen Alkhatib: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7472-324X
Abstract
Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) has emerged as a global concept for advancing humanitarian, peacebuilding and social benefits, particularly in disadvantaged communities and conflict-affected regions of the world. Yet, its promise is often entangled with the broader contradictions of international aid, which in the Global South often shifts from solidarity to systems shaped by power asymmetries, geopolitics and self-interests. Drawing on critical aid theory and decolonial thought, foregrounded in the Palestine context, we argue that SDP offers potential benefits but remains constrained by the very systemic issues it purports to redress. Further, we critique the International Olympic Committee’s stance of neutrality, raising questions about its significance as the supposed custodian of SDP globally and its ethical responsibility in conflict-affected contexts. Ultimately, we call for a reimagined SDP paradigm, grounded in humanitarian service, local voices, political consciousness, resistance to structural injustice and social protection.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Charway, Derrick; Asif, Umair; Khani, Zohreh; and Alkhatib, Mazen
(2026)
"The contested terrain of Sport for Development and ‘Peace’ Amidst Persistent Global Aid Cuts and Geopolitical Tensions,"
Journal of Global South Sport Studies: Vol. 1:
Iss.
2, Article 4.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/jgsss/vol1/iss2/4
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Development Studies Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social Justice Commons, Sports Studies Commons