Book Review: Interrogating Integration: Sport, Celebrity, and Scandal in the Making of New Germany

Abstract

This review discusses Interrogating Integration: Sport, Celebrity, and Scandal in the Making of New Germany by Kate Zambon. Through discourse analysis of media narratives, Zambon demonstrates that athletes and celebrities of immigrant or minority backgrounds become symbolic figures whose successes and failures test the nation’s integration project, with case studies including the 2006 World Cup, the Sarrazin debate, and the Integration Bambi Awards. The book’s originality lies in moving beyond legal or policy frameworks to foreground mediated narratives, offering clear and coherent arguments supported by a logically organized structure. While the absence of comparative perspectives and audience reception studies leaves room for future inquiry, the book contributes significantly to German studies and sport scholarship by linking cultural politics to questions of identity and legitimacy. It also carries practical implications for sport business professionals concerned with sponsorship, diversity, and brand reputation