Garner, Ferdinand & Lawson: Introduction to Politics
Possible answer to scenario 5
Given the stated circumstances, you have a good chance of success if you activate all of your resources. But the outcome may well depend on the relative effort you put into cultivating your contacts. The most plausible scenario would be:
Contact the Foreign Office minister. Since the media has picked up the story (even in a fairly low-key report) you can expect that the government will want to make representations to the government in question, and this is most likely to have a speedy effect.
Contact the pop singer. He or she might be shocked by the case, and give a commitment to raise the issue at every public appearance before it is rectified.
Contact the media mogul. If he or she knows that a celebrity singer already endorses your cause, there is a good chance that the issue will be given extensive coverage.
Contact the members of your own group. They are unlikely to have a direct effect on the problem, which is happening in a different country; but they might be able to activate others closer to the scene.
Contact the MPs. If the Foreign Office minister has decided not to act, it is unlikely that 17 MPs will be able to sway parliamentary opinion. But it is worth a try.
Contact the members of the associated group in the country where the problem has arisen. It is likely that they know all about it already, and that their efforts to prevent the abuse have been unsuccessful. But at least you can remind them that they are not alone in their struggle.
This answer suggests that 'orthodox' political channels are still likely to be the most effective, if available. However, it is increasingly the case the media exposure can determine the fate of a campaign, and that without this asset even a strongly-motivated group of activists with parliamentary contacts can easily fail. If the example had been about reported abuses in an orphanage in Britain or any other liberal democracy, the scandal would probably have emerged eventually; but without media support it would probably have remained concealed for much longer.
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