Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913–1974 by Stefan Huebner (review)

The critical intersection of sports history with East–West political and cultural relationships has been historically oriented toward Cold War–focused investigations. While the American–Soviet relationship has played a central part in this field, Asian sports history has garnered less consideration in most cases. Stefan Huebner's book Pan-Asian Sports and the Emergence of Modern Asia, 1913–1974 is self-described as "a book . . . about Asian sports events. . . . However, it is also about the relations—or power asymmetry—between the East, meaning Asian actors, and the West, here meaning primarily US-American actors, but sometimes others as well" (1). Thus, Huebner's work is filling a much-needed space that has been missing in both a larger regional history and the important role sports played in shaping modern Asia. What separates this work from others on the topic is that Huebner has oriented his work largely from the perspective of Asian sports officials and politicians. Additionally, Huebner situates his work as a way of thinking about power relations in Asia and between Asia and the Western powers.

Early in his work, Huebner attempts to reconcile the "civilizing mission" of transferring Western sport to Asia—encouraged by men like Avery Brundage, an American who was president of the International Olympic Committee in the early twentieth century, with the eventual increased resistance to that ideal by Asian elites and leadership. As Huebner states, "[T]he brutal behavior of the Western powers, particularly during the era of imperialism, and a more racist and exclusionary view regarding non-Whites contradicted the self-ascriptions of the 'civilized' nations. The 'Western civilizing' mission rhetoric—which primarily served to legitimize Western imperialism and colonialism—was recognized as hypocritical and came under particularly heavy attack" (3). The addressed themes of imperialism and cultural colonialism are critical and relate the text to other examples of these Western strategies in places such as the Caribbean.

The chapter organization of the book is both chronological and regional, which is helpful given the breadth of this regional history. The six decades of history in the book are individually covered yet also woven together very thoughtfully. Huebner begins by discussing the "Western Civilizing Mission" of Elwood Brown and the YMCA and moves through the rise of various international contests, games, and eventually the arrival of the first Olympics in Asia. He then follows through the struggles against imperialism and colonialism and the role that sports played in those movements. One of the great strengths of Huebner's work is the interwoven narrative that builds throughout the very wide-ranging geography that he covers. China, Japan, Indonesia, India, Indonesia, and a number of other regions are all given individual attention but also expertly woven together as the narrative progresses. This gives the "emergence" element of the title a true place throughout the work, building as the narrative expertly unfolds.