European (dis-)integration theories, Brexit and sport

Abstract

What is the contribution of European Integration Theories (EIT)—grand theories and mid-range explanatory approaches—to predicting the impact of Brexit on EU sport policy? The chapter introduces main paradigmatic schools of (European and regional) integration theories: neofunctionalism, intergovernmentalism and postfunctionalism, mainly in their capacity to also conceptualise forms of disintegration such as the exit of the UK from the EU. In a second step, we explore how concepts such as advocacy coalitions, the principal-agent framework and Europeanisation, which have been applied to conceptualise sport (esp. football) successfully, may also be helpful in capturing the likely impact of Brexit in these domains. As disintegration presents a rather novel topic for most of the theories and approaches discussed, we argue that there exists a double disconnect here. First, the grand integration theories might have opened up to including the spectre of disintegration to some extent, yet these insights have only rarely been applied to the field of (European) sport policy. Second, the so far preferred concepts and explanatory tools in the field of sports, its regulation, and sport policy have not yet begun to critically assess the possibility of disintegration. In the remainder of the chapter, we hence attempt to offer some tentative suggestions in an effort to advance the conceptual debate on the likely post-Brexit shape of sport regulation and sport policy in Europe.