Itamar Dubinsky
Since the early 2010s, I have been researching the roles Ghanaian football academies play in local development. My research offered an original analysis of how Ghanaians use their resources to contribute to personal and communal growth while emphasizing African agency. This ethnographic research was based on fieldwork trips to various football academies in Ghana. I published numerous articles based on this research, as well as a book, Entrepreneurial Goals. These studies have helped push research forward on the links between development, sports, and the private sector in Africa.
Following the immediate spread of COVID-19 in 2020, I altered my research methods and became engaged in archival work and the content analysis of online sources. Specifically, I began researching Israel's ties with African countries through archival materials. Various publications emerged from these studies, including an edited book in Hebrew I co-authored, Postcolonial Dilemmas.
My latest research analyzes international relations in Africa through the concept of sports diplomacy. I do so through a content analysis of online media sources, official state publications, and publications from non-state organizations. The articles that stem from these studies reflect an understanding of African agency within the international political realm, as African state and non-state actors are seeking to exploit the opportunities from the modern-day capitalistic world of sport while benefitting from rivalries between the world's superpowers.
