ABSTRACT
The main aim of this book has been to present the sports ecosystems in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia and to understand the interplay of sport and politics within the Western Balkans. Thirty years since the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) represents a significant time distance to provide an objective context for examining sports policies and politics within the emerging nation-states. In particular, the structure and dynamics of sports ecosystems and processes of policy-making have been thoroughly analyzed. As indicated, this book is limited to Western Balkans countries within the methodological frame of most similar system designs (Landman & Carvalho, 2016). The rationale behind the qualitative approach is to locate similarities, differences, and dynamics within the selected counties. The historical overview chapter provided an initial understanding of the development of sports policy and politics, while the following chapter highlighted the interplay of sports and politics within emerging countries. The similarities are prevalent, although institutional memory played a crucial role in facilitating independent sports ecosystems (Begovic, 2021). For Croatia, Serbia, and Montenegro, it could be argued that the policy infrastructure is developed; in the case of Bosnia, it is still in the developmental phase.
