This thesis has sought to investigate the development of Chinese elite sport policy after the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games through examining the evolution of the Chinese Olympic discourses and elite sport policy discourses with emphasis on the power and interests reflected and constructed within and by these discourses. This study adopts a Critical Discourse Analysis approach, (founded on Critical Realist premises). The discourse analysis protocol employed is modified from Fairclough s (2005, 2009) framework, also known as Dialectical-Relational Approach, to examine the constitution and implementation of power at the meso and micro levels of relationships within Chinese elite sport. The analysis is based on archival material and semi-structured interviews. Rather than providing a detailed chronology of the Chinese Olympic movement and of Chinese elite sport, the analysis, divided into two main parts, starts with identifying critical periods as the start line of the analysis and points of division that separate these periods. The analysis of the pre-2008 era starts with the year 1993, in which the first Olympic bid by China failed and the second significant reforming policy of Chinese elite sport was published. This section of the thesis consists of an analytic description of the development of Chinese elite sport policy and the analysis of Chinese Olympic discourse and elite sport discourse before the 2008 Olympics. The post-2008 section contains the analysis of these two discourses after the Beijing Games, and develops case studies of three sports, baseball, diving and table tennis, attempting to unveil the development of Chinese elite sport policy in the post-2008 era. From 1993 to 2012, a consistent feature was the concurrent requirement of both reform and of satisfactory elite sport performance, was maintained in Chinese elite sport policy discourse. The power of discourses in relation to these dual goals has varied across the period, has been influenced by a number of factors, and has been maintained by the dominant group within Chinese society and within Chinese elite sport exercising their power over discourse. The thesis argues that the characterisation of Chinese elite sport and of its development has varied with the change in the power relationship between the two sets of goals, which has significantly influenced the key developments and change in Chinese elite sport policy and its governance system.

The research analyses stability and change in the English/British elite sport policy landscape in the period 2005 to early 2014. In the context of a recession and change of government, the policy environment could be described as turbulent and cuts to public funding and commitment to deregulation have been key features of the overarching policy landscape. There was an assumption that elite sport would not be immune from the policy turbulence. The policy landscape is described as consisting of three elements: organisations, public funding and political salience. The original contribution of the thesis is threefold: first, in relation to the empirical study of the relative impact of the political and economic turbulence on the elite sport system; second, in the application of institutional theory and punctuated equilibrium theory to the analysis of elite sport policy; and third, the application of theory to explain the extent of stability uncovered through the empirical research. The research used a case study approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 senior officials from sport in England/the UK from both sport-specific NGBs and organisations with wider, national remits for elite sport and incorporating both government and non-government organisations. Due to the sample of interviewees, the nuances of elite interviewing were an important consideration for the researcher. A document analysis study was also carried out. Through the existing literature and the data gathered, three cases emerged and were examined in depth: youth talent search and development; nurturing and transferring talent; and sustaining world class athletes. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data. The data revealed that the policy landscape was, for the most part, stable in the period studied. There were changes to the intensity of financial and political support and refinements of policy objectives, especially due to the hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, but the overall policy aims remained consistent. The reasons identified for this stability were as follows: the absence of an alternative, critical lobby; strong leadership in the sector; and the hosting of the London 2012 Games. The long-term impact of Labour s Modernisation agenda was found to have contributed to the stable governance of elite sport, which includes a structure for decision-making and accountability around funding of NGBs by UK Sport. Historical Institutionalism was found to offer the most useful meso-level framework for analysis of the data and clear critical junctures and path formation phases could be identified.

The purpose of this thesis was to explore the development of elite sport through national sport policy within a developing country, Jamaica. Taking a qualitative approach, the thesis drew on the SPLISS framework (De Bosscher et al., 2006, 2015) to understand government influence in the development of elite sport, through policy, and to investigate other contributing factors for elite sporting success. A logic model illustrated the input-throughput-output pillars of the SPLISS framework, and aided in the interpretation of both a theoretical and rival proposition (Yin, 2018). This thesis purpose, accomplished in part by exploring the most successful elite sport in Jamaica, athletics (track and field), incorporated three interconnected studies on that developing country’s national sport system, a sport system that produced its first Olympic success in 1948, forty-six years before the introduction of national sport policy. Three interconnected studies allowed for findings that highlighted the roots of Jamaica’s sport development, beginning with the introduction of a school and community sport system by the former colonial British government, and retained and expanded by the Jamaican government from 1962. The findings also highlighted that the school and community sport systems facilitated a local approach to the development and training for athletics. It included factors outside of the influence of government, such as the impact of coaches and role models that assisted in creating a fraternity in the sport through tradition, culture and passion, and established an environment for elite sport. This environment involved a collaboration between educational institutions and the professional local club system, and represents the critical elements in the success of athletics, indicating that the influence of government policies for sport development was not impacting international sporting success up to 2017. The interconnected studies also provided support for gaps identified in the SPLISS framework and the literature on elite sport policy. For SPLISS, the findings provided evidence in understanding what happens when input factors are processed (the ‘black box’) leading to outputs, and national outcomes. For the literature, the thesis found that an historical context is important in understanding the coalescing of micro-, macro-, and meso-level factors for elite sporting success.

This thesis explores the process of elite sport policy change in three sports (swimming, athletics and sailing/yachting) in Canada and the United Kingdom (UK). The nature of policy change is a complex and multi-faceted process and a primary aim of the study is to identify and analyse key sources of policy change in four elements of elite sport programming: i) the development of elite level facilities; ii) the emergence of 'full-time' swimmers, athletes and sailors; iii) the adoption of a more professional and scientific approach to coaching, sports science and sports medicine; and iv) competition opportunities and structures at the elite level. The study focuses on the meso-level of analysis, which centres on the structures and patterns of relationships in respect of three Canadian national sporting organisations (NSOs) and three UK national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) - representing the three sports cited above. The macro-level of analysis is also considered, where the primary concern is to analyse relations of power between governmenta nd quasi-governmentasl porting agenciesa nd the respective NSOs/NGBs. A case study approach is adopted, focusing on the six NSOs/NGBs, wherein a qualitative methodology is utilised in order to elicit data in respect of policy change in the four key elements of elite sport programming set out above. Within the case study approach, the advocacy coalition framework has proved useful in drawing attention to the notion of changing values and belief systems as a key source of policy change, as well as highlighting the need to take into account factors external to the policy subsystem under investigation. In Canada, it is evident that the preoccupation with high performance sport over the past 30 years, at federal government level, has perceptibly altered over the past two to three years. In contrast, in the UK, from the mid-1990s onwards, there has been a noticeable shift towards supporting elite sport objectives from both Conservative and Labour administrations. The study concludes that it is only by exploring specific sports through a comparative-analytic framework that a better understanding of policy change, within the complex and multi-layered sport policy process, might be achieved.

The requirements placed on Olympic and professional athletes in contemporary world sport are such that they need to dedicate themselves more and more to achieving excellence. This immediately implies that most athletes' time is dedicated to developing their sporting career, with very little time left to develop other aspects of their lives outside their sport. The reality facing many elite athletes is that few are sufficiently financially rewarded to allow them to make a living out of their sport, and even fewer can rely on measures in place in their own country to assist with the financial and psychological impacts of their retirement from sport (Stambulova, Stephan, & Japhag, . 2007). This places even more importance on the need for the athlete to either have a 'dual career' or else to prepare for a post-athletic career while still participating in elite sport. However, though policy makers have begun to demonstrate an awareness of these needs, and programmes have been developed to assist in the educational and vocational development of athletes, little effort has been made to identify how athletes perceive the choices which face them and how they negotiate a way through the challenges of developing and maintaining a dual career. To redress this, a life story approach has been adopted during this research study to try to elicit student-athletes' own life experiences and to identify and evaluate the decision-making processes they go through, in order to combine an academic and elite sporting career successfully. The athletes selected for the development of life-stories are drawn from three countries, Finland, France and the UK which reflect different approaches to state intervention in sport/education (Amara, Aquilina, Henry, & Taylor, 2004). Crucial to an evaluation of these national systems is an understanding of what these policy systems are seeking to achieve. This may be expressed in terms of a balance between the roles; rights and responsibilities of the main stakeholders (including the athlete, the university, the Member State and the European Union) which are articulated within the study. This research study therefore seeks to develop an understanding of the perspectives on student-athletes' development in academic and sporting terms, identifying the principal challenges faced and how these may be overcome, and considers the implications of such insights for practitioners and policy makers.

This thesis seeks to analyse the policy making and policy implementation processes of elite sport in China and the UK, covering the period 1992-2012. Three sports are selected for detailed cases studies: artistic gymnastics, swimming and cycling. They represent a wide range of sports in two countries, based on their varying competiveness, weights and traditions. Key areas including organisational structure, financial support, talent identification and athlete development, coaching, training, competition opportunities, scientific research and others (including international influence and other sport- and country-specific areas) are identified to organise the discussion. The aim is not only to present key characteristics of the development of each sport in China and the UK respectively and to introduce the successful experience and problems but also to form a basis for the discussion of policy making, policy implementation and policy changes.