| This thesis contributes to the literature on sport and politics and highlights the relevance of sport as a field of academic inquiry by focusing on the connections between sport, culture, and social institutions. More specifically, it serves as a case study on corruption in Argentine soccer. In recent years, the changing character of Argentine political culture has influenced the ways in which groups of soccer fans organize themselves around political and economic goals. Contrary to what happens in other national contexts, the spread of violence in Argentine soccer is encouraged by social leaders through corrupt political and economic arrangements that benefit all parties involved. By using a comparative approach, I emphasize the need to consider local specificities when examining soccer violence in different national contexts. It is only by looking at these specificities that one can develop an understanding of the links between sport, social structures, culture, and politics. |
