Bahrain can't hope to radically improve its economy, if the government remains hostile to the opposition and a majority of the population feels excluded from the political, social and economic progress of the country. In that sense, no amount of economic aid or Formula One events can gloss over the fundamental issues facing the country.
In many ways, Bahrain is the odd one out in the GCC bloc. The smallest state in the Gulf with the smallest economy and geographic area, Bahrain is also weak on natural resources, unlike its other fellow GCC members. Its Sunni rulers also find themselves in the minority and in the tough position of running a Shia-dominated population - other Gulf states don't have that acute problem.
And these issues appear to be undoing much of Bahrain's economic progress of the past few decades.
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