Non-governmental Organizations And International Communication

Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) are the most important social force next to Governments and multi-national corporations. NGOs seem to be playing an increasingly important role in the international world due to their status as independent, non-profit and publically operated and scrutinized organizations. Although scholars have published papers from an international relations or public management perspective, few have focused on the relationship concerning NGOs and international communication.This study investigates NGOs as a new subject in the area of international communication, taking Greenpeace as a case study. Aspects of this research include:Ways in which NGOs initiate international communications, tactics used by Greenpeace to gain the right of access to the media, and strategies employedby Greenpeace to achieve frame alignment, among others. This paper also studies factors that affect NGO international communications and the results of these communications.