ABSTRACT
Chapter three inspects the conditions around the 1999 Lausanne Conference that led to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) creation to see which actors were able to successfully influence change and which actors were suppressed. In doing so, the analysis provides insight into the original validation of WADA to inform how the organisation’s legitimacy has since been challenged. Beginning with an overview of the state of anti-doping prior to the creation of WADA, the chapter then details the key periods of instability and legitimacy debates regarding the IOC’s regulation of anti-doping between the Festina Affair in 1998 and WADA’s launch in 1999. Analysis of the legitimacy debate in this period elucidates four key points pertaining to the legitimacy debate between advocate governments from the global north, International Olympic Committee members and wealthy international federations. Considered together, it is concluded that WADA’s legitimacy as an institution was weakly validated due to a lack of consensus between stakeholders which can help explain the challenges the organisation has faced since in trying to gain behavioural support from signatories.
