2014 Articles

Deceptive development and democratization: stadium construction and securitization in the FIFA world cup host countries of South Africa and Brazil

Peet-Martel, Jasper

The past few decades has seen increasing attention given toward mega sporting events in
the context of development. As countries, especially in developing regions of the world,
strive to enhance their political, economic, and social standing, hosting mega events is
viewed as an opportune path to growth. However, this view often does not take into consideration
how fall-out, particularly for local communities, affects a country's overall experience
with the event it hosts. The question I pose to test these two competing views of
mega event hosting is the following: are mega-sporting events, specifically the FIFA World
Cup, a viable avenue for furthering development and democratization? I examine the dual
processes of stadium development and securitization for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World
Cups to answer this question, and argue that the neoliberal governance that drives FIFA
World Cup securitization and stadium construction results in significant consequences
for local development and compromises democratization for developing host countries.