
POWER TOOLS FOR INFLUENCING GOVERNMENT DECISIONS 123
negotiated. In addition, it gave the Foreign Ministry a means to
defend its action with other Sudanese government departments
that might want to challenge it. So finding the right precedent was
the key to achieving a successful negotiation in the Sudan.
My experience in the Sudan was by no means unique. In any
negotiation with a government, finding and applying the right
precedent is the key to getting what you want. Precedent is a pow-
erful means of influencing the decisions of government negotia-
tors. Government negotiators, whether they are politicians,
political appointees, or bureaucrats, need