Idrætsforeninger og social kapital

Idrætsforeninger og social kapital

Hvordan idrætsforeningen spiller en rolle i forhold til at skabe netværkssamarbejde og social kapital i lokalsamfund.

Simon Hejsel

01-06-2010

Titelblad

Specialets titel:

Idrætsforeninger og social kapital - Hvordan idrætsforeningen spiller en rolle i forhold til at skabe netværkssamarbejde og social kapital i lokalsamfund.

Forløb:

Speciale. Cand. Mag uddannelsen i Samfundsfag, Aalborg Universitet.

Vejleder: Lars Torpe

Simon Hejsel

Forord

Udarbejdelsen af dette speciale markerer afslutningen på seks års studier ved henholdsvis Politik & Administration og Samfundsfag ved Aalborg Universitet og Institut for Idræt ved Aarhus Universitet.

I specialet undersøger jeg en idrætsforenings rolle i at sammenbinde et lokalsamfund og derigennem skabe grobund for vedligeholdelse og udvidelse af lokalområdets sociale kapital. Undersøgelsen har krævet en ny vinkel til brugen af social kapital teori og til valg genstandsfelt for undersøgelsen. Disse nyskabende forhold, har gjort arbejdet spændende, men har også krævet sine anstrengelser.
Resultatet foreligger nu, men der er flere, jeg gerne vil takke for at have trådt til med

indspark og hjulpet mig med at holde mig på sporet, når det har været nødvendigt. En stor tak skal

derfor lyde til min vejleder, Lars Torpe, for inspirerende og kompetent vejledning. Derudover sender jeg en tak til Elo Christensen, Henrik Pajbjerg, Mads Bang Aaen, Torben Sachmann og ikke mindst Henrik Brandt, der alle har stillet sig til rådighed i forbindelse med interview og efterfølgende spørgsmål.
Endelig vil jeg rette en tak til Troels Paulsen og Jonas Langeland Pedersen, der begge der begge i flere omgange har bidraget med kritisk, konstruktiv, konkret og alligevel kærlig feedback.
God læselyst

Simon Hejsel

Abstract

Through recent years, the political interest in the participation in civic organizations has risen. Participation in civic organizations has been connected with positive externalities such as development of democratic values, active participation and tolerance. At the same time, studies find that these positive externalities are hard to find empirically. Furthermore, it is only under certain circumstances that participation in civic organizations has positive externalities. This master thesis takes its starting point in this paradox.

Robert Putnam has been central in the development of theory that explains what happens, when people interact in civic organizations. Putnam explains that civic organizations contribute in the creation of social capital, which are networks, trust and norms that facilitate cooperation. Social capital can therefore help people cooperate and thereby solve problems more efficiently.

Networks are the structural component of social capital, through which trust and norms can be developed. The reason for this is simple. People have to co-relate before they can develop trust and norms.

A sport club is an example of a civic organization that, through its networks, puts people in relation to each other. At the same time, the sports club provides networks to other civic organizations and public- and commercial agents.

The precise aim of this thesis is to explain to what extent a sports club has a role in binding a local society together and how it affects cooperation through its networks. Here, social capital theory is used to examine, whether or not these networks are promoting cooperation.

It was a great challenge to develop a method that identifies all of the networks connected to the sports club. The idea was therefore to find a situation in which the sports club had mobilized all of its networks in the process of solving a problem. The Wrestling Club in Herning played a large role in the mobilization of volunteers at the 2009 World Championship in Wrestling in Herning. For that reason, the event was used in a case study, where Herning Wrestling Club’s networks were identified. The further analysis of the network was carried out from four conditions that could explain, whether or not the networks in use could create more social capital and thereby more cooperation in the future. Three of the conditions were developed from Putnam’s theory of social capital. ‘Openness’, ‘Cooperation’ and ‘Volunteering’. The theory of linking social networks was used to describe the more vertical networks.

The analysis showed that Herning Wrestling Club had a great impact in the local community in terms of uniting people through networks. These networks were overall used in accordance with conditions derived from the theory. Consequently, the conclusion was that Herning Wrestling Club played a large role in creating social capital.

A further comparison to the 2009 World Championships in Taekwondo showed that it was in two particular areas that Herning Wrestling Club played a role in the World Championship in Wrestling. First as a network, where a large number of volunteers could be recruited, and second, in the distribution of responsibility and assignments, because the networks in Herning Wrestling Club provided information for the organizations about the competences of the volunteers. Finally, a recommendation was made for the use of local sports clubs in connection to international sporting events.