The FIA and Bahrain - An Extensive Analysis

[Camasi]

*deep breath*

I wrote one of my first paid articles for a website in which I analyzed the FIA and the Bahrain GP. I come from an academic background in political science and philosophy so I figured I may have a different perspective of it. It took me about a week to do. I had to do some extensive research into a lot of things such as the FIA Statutes, FIA good governing principles, FIA world motor sport council decisions, Freedom House Reports, Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry reports, etc.

It was very time consuming but I think it turned out alright. I am very new at this so it is possible I could have made mistakes here and there so I am interested in feedback.

These are the primary questions I address in the article.

(1) Were the decisions made by the FIA and F1 consistent with their organizational laws and governing principles?

(2) Were their actions with Bahrain consistent with actions taken in the past regarding political situations?

(3) Did the FIA have enough information to properly evaluate the political situation in Bahrain?

(4) Did the FIA and F1 maintain an apolitical status?

(5) Is there any other reason as to why the FIA would break it's own rules and governing principles for Bahrain?

The article can be found at the link below:

http://igpmanager.com/news-article/20/the-fia-and-bahrain-an-analysis--commentary

The article does not argue which side is right regarding the political situation in Bahrain. My focus is on the FIA/F1 but I had to take time to describe the situation in Bahrain. Please keep in mind the description follows what was reported and recognized by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry which is endorsed by the Government of Bahrain.


Note: If I should have just posted this under the race thread I apologize.

 

[Camasi]

Fun teaser of the article designed to generate interest in reading it .

Something doesn't add up here. Let us review the following:

Turkish government officials used F1 as a political platform in order to push their own agenda on a politically tense situation which had nothing to do with F1. The FIA responded by punishing the national organizers with a record fine.

Bahraini government officials used F1 as a political platform in order to push their own agenda on a politically tense situation which had nothing to do with F1. The national organizers were not punished. In fact, they were praised for their efforts.

 

[tribolik]

Well it seems to me that the F1 venue held in Bahrain gave more exposure to the opposition than it did to the Bahraini government... My own independent 5 second analysis reported and recognized by the entire world media... so who should the FIA fine now?

Im not so sure this is in the right forum or if it should go in the Opinions & Current Events we will have to wait for it to be reported and recognized by the entire moderation staff

 

[Camasi]

totally missed that forum. I think your right.

In response to what you said. The FIA fines race organizers for making politically charged statements towards issues that are politically tense/disputed at a high degree.

I don't care about the actions of the world wide media as much as I care about what the Bahrain organizers did. The FIA should have seen this coming. I am not asking them to control what people say, but they don't need to allow F1 to be used as a political tool by either the opposition or the government. They broke fundamental rules by going through with the race/not holding certain parties accountable. Basically.. they put F1 in a politically tense situation despite having several indicators suggesting that it would more than likely be abused politically.

I should also mention that when speaking about neutrality I am not talking about pure neutrality. This is impossible to achieve. Neutrality is considered along a continuum and is constantly maintained. There may be some skewing to the left or right but it is within a certain set of parameters. In my opinion, having the race take place broke those parameters big time whereas not having the race would have not. It wouldn't have made a statement on Bahraini policies or how they should govern.. it could have simply conveyed the message that "While we feel that the safety of F1 will be maintained, we do not think the political neutrality of it will given the current circumstances." or something along those lines