This episode is also available as a blog post: http://sportslawandpolicyreviewreporter.com/2022/06/28/sports-diplomacy-in-global-politics-a-case-study-of-bans-imposed-on-russian-motorsport-athletes%ef%bf%bc/

With the proliferation of international sports, sporting events have become an attractive medium of expressing messages on global as well as domestic issues. Governments can be actively seen using sports as a policy instrument to either promote their own ideologies and political orientations or to condemn those of some other countries. Confrontational use of politics in sports is not uncommon, as also evidenced by  numerous instances which have been discussed in this article. 

However, as powerful as sports diplomacy is, it comes with certain drawbacks. One major consideration here is that it pits the rights of the athlete against the larger considerations of international relations. Practice has proved that there is little doubt as to what will prevail, but the fact remains that such practices are unfair to the athletes and sportspersons. This article provides an analysis of the particular case of motorsport and the actions taken by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) post the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a bid to better understand this Athlete-Nationality dichotomy.