Civilizing the Devil’s Own Country. The Scouting movement in Netherlands New Guinea as a tool for social, cultural and political change, 1950–1962

Abstract

By using Scouting in Netherlands New Guinea between 1950 and 1962 as a case-study, this paper critically analyses the idea of ‘Sport has the power to change the world’ – a positivist notion that has caused governments and NGOs alike to present physical exercise as a tool for nation-building, education, health, community development and social inclusion. This paper argues that indeed Scouting was used in Netherlands New Guinea as a tool for social, cultural and political change. However, less idealistic motives also underlay the development of the Scouting movement. Local agency and the ways Scouting was used by Papuan Scouts to advance their own agendas will also be taken into account.