NGO campaign efficacy : a collective action problem perspective.

• Main Author: Tan, Alvin Poh Heng.
• Other Authors: Tan Yew Lee, Kevin
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38896
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Various schools of scholarship have identified a myriad of factors that affect the success of an NGO campaign. However, an examination of the current literature reveals that, more often than not, the listed factors are issue or area specific. A methodology does not exist for us to compare and contrast NGO campaigns across different domains. This paper argues that Mancur Olson's collective action problems fills this gap and presents a universal explanation for NGO campaign efficacy. Thus, success can be understood by examining the homogeneity and size of the group of rational actors, and failure can be explained by issues such as "Free-Riding" and the "Principle of Imperceptible Effect".