DEP. OF EXERCISE > Publications > PhD thesis > 2009 > UW The struggle

The struggle for clean sports
Anti-doping strategies from 1960 to 2009

PhD thesis by Ulrik Wagner

2009, 180 pages, DKR 100,-
ISBN: 978 87 917 71 231

The main problem to be dealt with is: How have international sport organizations approached the problem of doping in sports in the period from 1960 to 2009? In 5 articles it investigates various aspects of changing international organizational anti-doping efforts before, during and after the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The point of departure is the construction of WADA in 1999. The creation of a new global governing body marks a crucial change in how international sport federations have approached doping in sport. The tensions between the new agency, political organizations and large international sport federations show that this transformation process has not been unproblematic. In order to understand these problems the thesis combines a historical perspective with organizational sociological theories derived from the system theory developed by German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, figurational sociology and new institutionalism. The focus is on anti-doping efforts carried out by the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, IAAF and the UCI between 1960 and 2009. By investigating past organizational efforts and current conflicts, the research presented here may contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of future challenges and conflicts in the efforts to fight the use of doping in sports.

Content (pdf, 28 kb)

English abstract (pdf, 19 kb) 

List of papers (pdf, 58 kb)

 
From left: Professor Barrie Houlihan, Professor Jan Ove Tangen & Associate professor Sine Agergaard (chairman)