In recent years, across a broad range of countries, sport has been transformed from an essentially private, politically marginal social activity to an important concern of government. Sport, Policy and Politics is a genuinely comparative analysis of sport policy-making, and the motives for investment by governments in five countries - Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom and North America. Some of the issues raised in this book include: the process of sport policy-making the administrative framework for sport: the responsibilities of central or federal governments, state governments and local authorities the division of responsibility between different levels of government how policy-making has addressed the topical problems of drug abuse in athletes, and the provision of sport and physical education in schools Barrie Houlihan is Associate Dean and Professor of Public Policy at Staffordshire University. He is a major analyst in sport and public policy; his publications include The Government and Politics of Sport , also published by Routledge.