Opportunities and Challenges of Anti-Doping Policy Harmonisation: Comparative Analysis of the Implementation and Perceived Legitimacy of Testing and Retesting between China and the United Kingdom

Abstract

The perceived legitimacy of anti-doping policies by stakeholders plays a vital role in harmonising implementation and sustaining the legitimacy of global anti-doping regime. Despite the vast research on anti-doping policies, comparative analysis of implementation and perceived legitimacy issues across political and cultural boundaries is limited. Consequently, there remains the opportunity for conducting comparative analysis between divergent national contexts. The aim of this thesis is to compare how testing and retesting are implemented and perceived in China and the United Kingdom (the UK) to extend empirical evidence and critically examine issues related to harmonisation and perceived legitimacy based on theoretical underpinnings of implementation and legitimacy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 47 stakeholders, comprising officials, coaches, and athletes from China, and coaches and athletes from the UK. Following reflexive thematic analysis, results showed that although scepticism about the credibility of China’s anti-doping is persistent, its implementation strategies for testing and retesting are convergent with those of the UK and stakeholders from both countries support anti-doping in general. However, it was also identified that stakeholders raised questions about the effectiveness, consistency and fairness of testing and retesting. Through critical analysis, the understanding of harmonisation in anti-doping was reframed, a multi-layer perceived legitimacy framework was proposed, the reasons for convergence between both countries were analysed, and the potential risks of the hegemonic character of the anti-doping regime were highlighted. Recommendations for improving the implementation of anti-doping policies and enhancing legitimacy were provided.