Analysis of Fathers for Justice

Pressure groups are common place within the contemporary political system; Collins English Dictionary defines such an organisation as "a group of people who seek to exert pressure on legislators, public opinion, etc, in order to promote their own ideas or welfare." There are many different forms of pressure group; they can be insider or outsider, sectional or causal. It is important to distinguish between pressure groups and political parties; pressure groups do not seek political power, instead they aim to influence government policy.
This essay will define the principal types of pressure group and distinguish between their different objectives. Furthermore, it will examine a case study of one particular pressure group, Fathers 4 Justice, and consider it from a public relations perspective. It is important to discuss the group 's relationship not only with the Government, but also with the media and the public. With the ever increasing importance of the media in politics today it is useful to discover how pressure groups use them to convey their message to the public and how the media alters the public 's perception of pressure groups.
The term "pressure group" often gives the impression to the public that such bodies use force to achieve their aims, but for the most part this is not the case. In order to promote their objectives to the public and the Government, pressure groups use a wide range of means including petitions, adverts, events, demonstrations, strikes and boycotts. These events generate media attention which in turn increases the nation 's awareness of the pressure group. In order to do try and influence policy, the pressure group must develop a strong relationship with its local or national Government. Unfortunately, only certain pressure groups are able to achieve this rapport, and these are known as insider groups.
Insider groups are seen as legitimate by their local and/or national government, and are therefore allowed access to the decision

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