Now, members of Congress are demanding that you “take a hard line” with Myca’s anti-democratic regime. They want you to tell Myca’s president that her actions threaten U.S. trade relations and aid by ignoring her people’s civil rights and refusing to hold elections.
Of course, Myca’s president and the opposition leader pay attention to U.S. media also. The president also cares very much that her people receive humanitarian aid. You suspect that the opposition leader does, too. Maybe now is a chance to broker a meeting between them to try to reach a compromise.
We might have to use incentives (“carrots”) and disincentives (“sticks”) to advance policy goals in this situation.
Giving Myca’s president an ultimatum about elections is risky because she might refuse. But she’s the only one with the power to call elections, so there is no better place to apply pressure. The opposition leader is sincerely committed to people’s well-being and cares about humanitarian aid.
Both of them may be willing to talk if you arrange the meeting. On the other hand, while they may agree about aid, there’s no guarantee that they will see eye-to-eye on elections.
Spotlight on Diplomacy
The creation of Israel in 1948 was followed by three decades of instability in the Middle East. In September 1978, President Jimmy Carter invited Egypt’s president and Israel’s prime minister to the United States for peace negotiations.
