Near-native competence in both written and spoken German language

PhD in German Politics, University of Birmingham, 1998

MA (Distinction) in Contemporary European Studies, Sussex University, 1996

BA with Honours (First Class) in German Studies, Goldsmiths College, London, 1995

Jonathan is one of very few political scientists who have turned their attention to sport. His recent work has highlighted the political nature of sport and how the study of sport – while worthwhile in its own right – can also be used to understand wider machinations in the political system, ranging from governance of the public sector, through the use of sport in international relations and national identity formation. Jonathan’s key area of focus is on government involvement in sport (in particular, elite sport) and the use of sport by governments. He has particular expertise in the governance and development of the Olympic no. 1 sport, athletics

I convene a 3rd year option ‘Politics and Sport’ which looks at all aspects of sports politics, from sports mega-events to sport policy. I will be leading a new MSc in Sport Management, Policy and Management from Sept. 2012 in the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences. I have also written widely on research skills and research methodology and continue to teach in this area.

I am available to supervise on any aspect of Sport, Politics and Policy. I have considerable experience of supervising PhDs and have also published extensively on research methods. I am particularly interested in the following:

1. Any aspect of sport politics

2. Sport Policy - elite and grass-roots

3. Mega-sporting events (soft power and international prestige)

4. Sport systems, including elite sport development

5. East German sport

6. Doping in sport

7. Sport and sport participation

Research group: British Politics

Research network (cross-college): Governance (convenor), Sport policy and politics (co-convenor)

Research interests

• Sport politics; the politics of sport
• Sport policy
• Governance debates in political science and public administration
• East German sports system

Current, recent and future projects

• Behind the East German sports ‘miracle’ (British Academy funded)
• Small-scale project on participation in sport (Triathlon case study) in the UK
• The governance of Not-for-profit Boards (using National Governing Bodies of Sport)
• Governance and the sport policy sector

Recent Research Funding

• £26, 000 from FAPESP (Sao Paulo State Funding Agency, Brazil) for project on 'Brazil as a rising power' (with Marco Vieira, Politics), Jan. 2013
• £34, 000 from British Council for a series of workshops on sports mega-events in Brazil, November, 2012.
• £11, 000 from UK Sport to undertake an analysis of NGB Boards Structures, May, 2012.
• £10, 000 from Triathlon England for a study on the enablers and barriers to ‘participation and growth in Triathlon in England’, April, 2012.
• £1350 from the School of Government and Society Research and Knowledge Transfer Fund for developing ‘sport policy exchange’ and fostering links with German Universities, June 2011.
• 3500 Euros from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a project on ‘The use of sport as a diplomatic tool: a case study of the football World Cup in Germany, 2006’; June 2011.
• £1650 from Triathlon England for an evaluation study into the effectiveness of their ‘Kids of Steel’ initiative to increase participation and awareness of Triathlon; May 2011.
• £3045 from School of Government and Society (£200) and ASCC fund for a conference on ‘Charisma – After Weber’, June 2011; awarded March 2011.
•  £1350 from Political Studies Association Grant from the Specialist Activities Fund for a workshop on: ‘Sport and the Big Society: Active citizens and post-welfare governmentalities’ in Sept. 2011; awarded March 2011.
• £6110 from British Academy for a project on ‘Lesson Drawing from the East German Sports Model’, December 2008.

Administrative and managerial responsibilities

I am on the University-wide Brazil Advisory Group and currently active in establishing links with sports scholars in the region.

My administrative duties include Director of Communications in POLSIS. I also sit on the Management, Post-graduate and Communication committees.

I am part of a team within the College of Social Sciences contributing towards the University’s Strategy for Sport, which envisages developing and bringing together academic expertise on the study of sport throughout the University.

I represented the College of Social Sciences on the University’s Senate until August, 2012 

Other External Appointments

• Member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Sport Policy, 2010;
• Chair of the Political Studies Association's sub-group 'Politics and Sport';
• Member of Editorial Board of German Politics (2000-2006);
• Reviews Editor of German Politics (2000 to 2006).

Monographs

Grix, J. (2014) The Politics of Sport, (Basingstoke, Palgrave), forthcoming.

Grix, J. and Dennis, M. (2012) Sport Under Communism: The East German Experience, Global Culture and Sport Series, (Basingstoke, Palgrave).

Grix, J. and Watkins, G. (2010) Information Skills. Finding and Using the Right Resources, (Basingstoke, Palgrave).

Grix, J. (2010) The Foundations of Research, 2nd Edition, (Basingstoke, Palgrave).

Grix, J. (2004) The Foundations of Research, (Basingstoke, Palgrave).

Grix, J. (2001) Demystifying Postgraduate Research. From MA to PhD, (University of Birmingham Press, Birmingham).

Grixj, J. (2000) The Role of the Masses in the Collapse of East Germany, (Basingstoke, Macmillan).

 

Refereed Articles

Grix, J. (2013) (with Donna Lee) ‘Soft Power, Sports Mega-Events and Emerging States: The Lure of the Politics of Attraction’, Global Society, forthcoming.

Grix, J. and Houlihan, B. (2013) 'Sports Mega-Events as Part of a Nation’s Soft Power Strategy: The Cases of Germany (2006) and the UK (2012)', British Journal of Politics and International Relations, in press.

Grix, J. (2013) 'The politics of the Olympics', Political Studies Review, in press.

Grix, J. (2013) '‘Image’ Leveraging and Sports Mega-Events:  Germany and the 2006 FIFA World Cup', Journal of Sport and Tourism, in press.

Boardley, I. and Grix, J. (2013) 'Doping in Bodybuilders: A Qualitative Investigation of Facilitative Psychosocial Processes', Journal of Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health, in press.

Dinold, M., Dikemüller, Grix, J. and Phillpots, L. (2013) ‘European Policy and the management of diversity: towards a typology for sport pedagogy’, European Journal of Sport Science, in press.

Grix, J. (2012) 'London 2012 and its legacies’, Editorial in Special Issue of International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics,  Grix, J. and  Lesley Phillpots, eds. ‘An Assessment of UK Sport Policy in comparative context’, in press.

Phillpots, L. and Grix, J. (2012) ‘New Governance, Physical Education and School Sport Policy: A Case Study of School to Club Links’, Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, in press.

Grix, J. and Carmichael, F. (2012) ‘The Olympic Legacy and Participation in Sport: An Interim Assessment of Sport England’s Active People Survey for Sports Studies Research’, International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, iFirst article, pp.1-16, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2012.656675.

Grix, J. (2012) 'The Politics of Sports Mega-events', Political Insight, 3, 1, pp. 4-7, April, 2012.

Grix, J. and Phillpots, L. (2011) ‘Unpacking the Paradox: Centralised Grass-Roots Policy and the “new Governance”: a Case Study of County Sport Partnerships’, International Review of Sport Sociology, (pre-published online, September 2010).

Grix, J. and Carmichael, F. (2011) 'Why do governments invest in elite sport? A polemic', International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 4, 1, pp. 73-90; http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2011.627358.

Grix, J. and Goodwin, M. (2011) ‘Bringing Structures back in: The “Governance Narrative”, the “Decentred Approach” and “Asymmetrical Network Governance” in the Education and Sport Policy Communities’, Public Administration, 89, 2, 537–556.

Grix, J. Phillpots, L. (2011) ‘Revisiting the “Governance Narrative”: “Asymmetrical Network Governance” and the Deviant Case of the Sport Policy Sector’, Public Policy and Administration, 26, 1, 3-19.

Grix, J. and Parker, A. (2011) ‘Towards an Explanation for the Decline in UK Athletics: a Case Study of Male Distance Running’, Sport in Society, 14, 5, 612–628.

Grix, J. (2010) ‘Introducing “Hard Interpretivism” and “Q” Methodology’, Leisure Studies, 29, 4, 457-467.

Grix, J. (2010) ‘The Governance Debate and the Study of Sport Policy’, International Journal of Sport Policy, 2, 2, July 2010, 159-171.

Grix, J. (2010) ‘From “Hobbyhorse” to Mainstream: Using Sport to Understand British Politics’, British Politics, 5, 1, February 2010. , 114-129.

Grix, J. and Dennis, M. (2010) ‘Behind the Iron Curtain: Football as a Site of Contestation in the East German Sports “Miracle”’, Sport in History, 30, 3, 447-474.

Grix, J. (2009)  ‘The impact of UK Sport Policy on the Governance of Athletics’, in International Journal of Sport Policy, March, 2009, 1, 1, 31-49.

Grix, J. (2008) ‘The Decline of Mass Sport Provision in the German Democratic Republic’, in International Journal of the History of Sport, 25, 4, 406-420

 

Chapters

Grix, J. (2014) 'Germany and Sport Politics' in The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary German Politics, Edited by Sarah Colvin, London: Routledge.

Grix, J. (2013) 'Political Science and Sport' in Handbook of Social Sciences in Sport and Physical Activity, Edited by Joseph Maguire, Human Kinetics.