Interrogating Integration

Reviews / Votes

"Zambon's book captures the paradox that soccer has often been hierarchical, patriarchal, and authoritarian, and not without elements of sexism, misogyny, homophobia, or racism, but at the same time has clearly and often indisputably emerged as an integrating force in society. Zambon's critical review is a welcome correction in this regard. She commendably places soccer in its contemporary context and clarifies historical lines of development." -- Jens Ljunggren, Idrottsforum "As we grapple with the 'new' nationalism, sports and the media are a crucible for debates about race, gender, immigration, religion, and belonging. Professor Zambon has given us empirical, theoretical, and-implicitly-political tools for understanding these complex questions in her bravura account of German football and struggles over that awkward word, 'integration.' A triumph!" -- Toby Miller, University of California, Riverside "Interrogating Integration is an outstandingly well-written book that offers an incredible overview of the recent politics of integration as well as a wide overview of the problems of the politics of integration in Germany. It also shows the link between the mainstream demands for integration and the emergence of the far right as part of the center of contemporary German political life. Its broad focus will make it invaluable to scholars working in Germany and Europe more broadly." -- Damani James Partridge, University of Michigan "Interrogating Integration is a well-written book that engages with crucial key events in the German debate on migration and inclusion in ways that will appeal to readers outside of Germany. The book contributes to a broad understanding of media as it examines various modalities of mediated communication while it also introduces students and other readers interested in the present-day German migration debates to the subject in an intriguing way with analysis that is detailed and convincing." -- Karina Horsti, University of Minnesota "Interrogating Integration provides valuable analytical tools for understanding the concept and politics of intergration in Germany, explored through history, sporing events, national policies, and public debates. This engaging and illuminating book will be of particular interest to readers seeking to understand the foundations of Germany's contemporary integration policies, the roles that sport and celebrity have played in their development, and how these policies have come to function as guiding concepts for regulating." -- Bastian Heinsohn, German Studies Review "Interrogating Integration offers a timely intervention in debates on ethnicity and race under neoliberal regimes, the biopolitics thereof, and postmigrant citizenship within its mandates." -- Kasturi Chatterjee, Transit "Zambon takes domains often dismissed as "mere entertainment" and demonstrates how these domains are deeply entangled with the political project of integration. For those in sport business and management, this book reveals that sport is not only about competition and commerce; it is also a cultural space wherein anxieties about identity, belonging, and national values are constantly negotiated." -- Sangchul Park, Global Sports Business Journal