"In the Gulf Arab states, opulent hotels with gold-plated toilet handles, shopping malls larger than several football pitches, cloud-reaching skyscrapers, artificial islands visible from space and almost racially segregated gated communities have all been hailed as "miracles" in the scorching deserts.
These are the visible signs of unregulated capitalism: political systems that are in many ways still very traditional are chasing each other along the road to urban ultra-modernity.
Sporting events have been a quintessential part of this development too – from the Formula One grand prix in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, the World Cup in Qatar, to the tennis championships in Dubai. But growth without equity, as highlighted in Bahrain, is a recipe for disaster.
The continued uprising in Bahrain and the recent battle over the grand prix may be the straw that breaks the camel's back in changing such an agenda. Domestically, the opposition to the Formula One event was not only about an international sporting body providing succour to a repressive regime. It was also a manifestation of anger towards the excesses of prestige projects and the squandering of resources, as well as despair over human rights violations.
Looking ahead, it could be a sign that other status symbols will become battlegrounds for agitation against other Gulf regimes. Qatar – chosen to host the 2022 football World Cup – seems already aware of this and has announced that it will allow trade unions before then...Bahrain's rapid urban transformation stands in stark contrast with the reality of relative economic poverty and social and political unrest. By the government's own accounts, the relative poverty line is set at 463 dinars ($1,230) per month. However, the government also reports that the average wage of Bahrainis is only 449 dinars ($1190) per month.
The political and economic elite, largely consisting of members of the royal family and its loyalists, preside over an inherently corrupt system and have huge vested interests in protecting the status quo. Their privileges include managing distributive institutions that accumulate oil revenues from the sale of 150,000 bpd donated by Saudi Arabia, owning huge shares of private and public monopolies, and mass land appropriation." (thanks Ala`a)
