En Latinoamérica, se abrieron algunos institutos durante la década de los ochenta, pero con una relativa fuerza en los noventa, muchos de ellos siguiendo el modelo planteado por el precursor en Inglaterra Sir Antony Fisher, quien impulso el Institute of Economic Affairs de Londres en 1959. Entre las principales tenemos la Fundación Atlas 1853 de Argentina, Libertad y Desarrollo de Chile, Instituto de Libre Empresa de Perú, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Economía Política de Ecuador, Instituto de Ciencia Política de Colombia, y otras decenas más que se han creado recientemente al agotarse el impulso de las reformas de mercado en América Latina.
A think tank (also called a policy institute) is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economy, science or technology issues, industrial or business policies, or military advice.[1] Many think tanks are non-profit organizations, which in some countries such as the US and Canada provides them with tax exempt status. While many think tanks are funded by governments, interest groups, or businesses, some think tanks also derive income from consulting or research work related to their mandate.
While the National Institute for Research Advancement hails think tanks as "... one of the main policy actors in democratic societies", which assure a "... pluralistic, open and accountable process of policy analysis, research, decision-making and evaluation",[2] critics of think tanks have called them "little more than public relations fronts...generating self-serving scholarship that serves the advocacy goals of their industry sponsors."[3] Critics argue that think tanks' results are biased to some degree.[citation needed]
History
Since "think tank" is a term that has only found use since the 1950s, there is still some debate over what constitutes the first think tank. One candidate is the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), founded in 1831 at the initiative of the Duke of Wellington. Another is the Fabian Society of Britain, founded in 1884 to promote gradual social change. The Brookings Institution, founded in the US in 1916 is another candidate for the first think tank. The term think tank itself, however, was originally used in reference to organizations that offered military advice, most notably the RAND Corporation, formed originally in 1946 as an offshoot of Douglas Aircraft and which became an independent corporation in 1948.
Until around 1970, there were no more than several dozen think tanks, mostly focused on offering non-partisan policy and military advice to the United States government, and generally with large staffs and research budgets. After 1970, the number of think tanks exploded, as many smaller new think tanks were formed to express various partisan, political, and ideological views.
Until the 1940s, most think tanks were known only by the name of the institution. During the Second World War, think tanks were referred to as "brain boxes" after the slang term for the skull. The phrase "think tank" in wartime American slang referred to rooms in which strategists discussed war planning. The first recorded use of the phrase to refer to modern think tanks was in 1959, and by the 1960s the term was commonly used to describe RAND and other groups assisting the armed forces. In recent times, the phrase "think tank" has become applied to a wide range of institutions, and there are no precise definitions of the term. Marketing or public relations organizations, especially of an international character, sometimes refer to themselves as think tanks, for example.
Types of think tanks
Some think tanks are clearly aligned with conservative or libertarian approaches to the economy (The libertarian Cato Institute, for example), while others, especially those with an emphasis on progressive social and environmental reforms (Tellus Institute, for example), are viewed as clearly liberal.
A new trend, resulting from globalisation, is collaboration between think tanks across continents. For instance, the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, collaborates with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar for an initiative on West-Islam relations. Also, in the area of West-Islam relations, Strategic Foresight Group, a think tank based in India, works closely with the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament. The World Economic Forum has created a Council of 100 Leaders on West-Islam relations, which brings together heads of major global think tanks ranging from Oxford Islamic Centre at Oxford University to Strategic Foresight Group, Observer Research Foundation, CSDS, Centre for Policy Research, ETC in Delhi of India and Al-Azhar University in Egypt.
Criticism
Critics such as Ralph Nader have suggested that because of the private nature of the funding of think tanks their results are biased to a varying degree. Some argue members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results that ensure the continued flow of funds from private donors. This risk of distortion similarly threatens the reputation and integrity of organizations such as universities, once considered to stand wholly within the public sector.[citation needed] Defenders state that think tanks arose to challenge alleged liberal orthodoxy of the universities in place starting in the 1970s.
Some critics[attribution needed] go further to assert think tanks are little more than propaganda tools for promoting the ideological arguments of whatever group established them. They charge that most think tanks, which are usually headquartered in state or national seats of government, exist merely for large-scale lobbying to form opinion in favor of special private interests. They give examples such as organizations calling themselves think tanks having hosted lunches for politicians to present research that critics claim is merely in the political interest of major global interests such as Microsoft, but that the connections to these interests are never disclosed. They charge, as another example, that the RAND Corporation issues research reports on national missile defense that accelerate investment into the very military products being produced by the military manufacturers who control RAND. Critics[attribution needed] assert that the status of most think-tanks as non-profit and tax exempt makes them an even more efficient tool to put special interest money to work.
In recent years, many think tanks have begun to promote causes which are contrary to established scientific opinion. For example, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition was formed in the mid 1990s as part of the tobacco industry's attempt to cast doubt on EPA studies showing that secondhand smoke could cause cancer.[4] According to an internal memo from Philip Morris, "the credibility of the EPA is defeatable, but not on the basis of ETS (environmental tobacco smoke) alone. It must be part of a larger mosaic that concentrates all the EPA's enemies against it at one time." [5]
The Discovery Institute has put the idea of Intelligent design into public debate, even though the vast majority of biologists do not consider intelligent design to be a scientific endeavor.[6][7][8]
United States think tanks
Think tanks in the United States play an important role in forming both foreign and domestic policy. Typically, an issue such as national missile defense will be debated within and among think tanks and the results of these debates will influence government policy makers. Think tanks in the United States generally receive funding from private donors, and members of private organizations. Think tanks may feel more free to propose and debate controversial ideas than people within government.
Although think tanks span the political spectrum, conservative think tanks are far more prevalent than their progressive counterparts. In an annual survey, the liberal media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) lists the 25 think tanks most often cited in the mainstream media. Their data for 2006 show that the most-cited think tank was the Brookings Institution, followed by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Of these top five, the first two are regarded as centrist and the next three conservative. Regarding media citations of think tanks more generally, the report found 45% to be centrist, 40% conservative or center-right, and 16% progressive or center-left. [9]
Conservative
Modern neoconservatism is associated with some of the foreign policy initiatives of think tanks such as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). The Claremont Institute and the Heritage Foundation are more traditional conservative think tanks.
Liberal
On the other side of the political spectrum are think tanks such as the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), Institute for Policy Studies, the Progressive Policy Institute and the Center for American Progress. Economic Policy Institute is a prominent liberal think tank whose research emphasizes interests of low-income and middle-income workers. The Roosevelt Institution is pushing the think tank model by attempting to organize university and college student bodies into effective think tanks.
Centrist
In order to retain non-profit tax-exempt status most think tanks, including those listed above as conservative or liberal, formally claim nonpartisan status. Centrist think tanks include the Atlantic Council of the United States and Center for Strategic and International Studies, non-partisan foreign policy-oriented organizations, the Institute for Collaborative Engagement, a non-partisan internationally-focused organization, and the The Lincoln Square Institute, a non-partisan presidential election forum. Other think tanks include Brookings Institution a centrist organization considered the oldest think tank in America.
Libertarian
The most prominent are the Cato Institute, a libertarian or "free-market liberal" think tank and the Mises Institute, focusing on libertarian economic education.
Government
Government think tanks are also important in the United States, particularly in the security and defense field. These include the Institute for National Strategic Studies, Institute for Homeland Security Studies, and the Center for Technology and National Security Policy, at the National Defense University; the Center for Naval Warfare Studies at the Naval War College and the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College.
In addition, the government funds, wholley or in part, activities at approximately 30 Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs)[10]. FFRDCs, are unique independent nonprofit entities sponsored and funded by the U.S. government to meet specific long-term technical needs that cannot be met by any other single organization. FFRDCs typically assist government agencies with scientific research and analysis, systems development, and systems acquisition. They bring together the expertise and outlook of government, industry, and academia to solve complex technical problems.
These FFRDCs include the MITRE Corporation, the Institute for Defense Analyses, the Aeorspace Corporation and others organizations supporting various departments within the U.S. Government.
Chinese think tanks
In the People's Republic of China a number of think tanks are sponsored by governmental agencies but still retain sufficient non-official status to be able to propose and debate ideas more freely. Indeed, most of the actual diplomacy between China and the United States has taken the form of academic exchanges between members of think tanks.
Some Leading Chinese Think Tanks:
China Center for Economic Research(CCER), Peking University
Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS)
Hong Kong think thanks
In Hong Kong, those early think tanks established in the late 1980s and early 1990s including Hong Kong Transition Project, Hong Kong Democratic Foundation and The One Country Two Systems Research Institute focused on the political development including first direct Legislative Council members election in 1991 and the political framework of “One Country, Two Systems” manifested in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. After the return of sovereign to the Mainland China in 1997, more and more think tanks were established by various groups of intellectuals and professionals. They have various missions and objectives including promoting civic education; undertaking research on economic social and political policies (the mission of the Civic Exchange); promoting “public understanding of and participation in the political, economic, and social development of the Hong Kong SAR” (one of the objectives of Savantas).
European think thanks
Denmark
In Denmark, the Copenhagen Institute is the first free-market think tank, founded in 2003. In 2004 high-profile representatives of Danish academia, business, media and the arts founded the free-market think tank CEPOS, which has had enormous success in setting a new agenda in the Danish welfare debate.
France
Most known think tanks include the Montaigne Institute, the EU-centered Robert Schuman Foundation, the Concorde Foundation, the libertarian Turgot Institute, the geoeconomics-centered Institut Choiseul and the antiglobalization Copernic Foundation.
Some of them are associated with the major political parties:
Germany
In Germany all of the major parties are loosely associated with research foundations that play some role in shaping policy, but generally from the more disinterested role of providing research to support policymakers than explicitly proposing policy. The foundations are:
For a comprehensive list of German (and European) think tanks with information on organisation, funding, research areas and job opportunities visit the 'Think Tank Directory' [11]
Greece
In Greece, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement(PASOK), is affiliated with the 'Institute of Developing Policies, Andreas Papandreou', ΙΣΤΑΜΕ.
Ireland
In Ireland, the Institute of European Affairs is a leading contributor to European debate on climate change, security, policy and economic issues. The Iona Institute is an Irish based think tank which focuses on religion and society.
Italy
In the Venices (Italy), the Venezie Institute is the first Venetian free-market think tank, founded in 2005. It aims to bring about institutional, social and economic changes in the Venices (Venezie) based on the traditional Venetian principles of free enterprise, institutional integrity, limited government and individual liberty. It is completely independent of any political party, religious or economic interest group. Its motto: "Pro Bono Publico".
The Netherlands
Just like in Germany in The Netherlands all of the major parties are loosely associated with research foundations that play a role in shaping policy.
Other Dutch think tanks are:
Poland
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, Eastern Europe has seen a number of new think tanks arise and some of them are already playing a role in the forming of government policy.
In Poland, there are several think tanks. The most known of them are Instytut Spraw Publicznych, Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, DemosEuropa and Instytut Sobieskiego. Think tanks connected with economical reforms are the liberal Instytut Badań nad Gospodarką Rynkową (IBnGR), Centrum im. Adama Smitha, Centrum Analiz Społeczno-Ekonomicznych (CASE).
Portugal
In Portugal, a very important think tank is Compromisso Portugal, based on neoliberal-minded entrepreneurs and academists aiming to contribute to the debate of ideas how to develop Portugal.
Romania
Romanian Academic Society (SAR) is a Bucharest-based think tank and NGO founded in 1996. It is considered close to the right wing of politics.
Spain
In Spain, think tanks are progressively raising their public profile. The most influential Spanish think tank is the Elcano Royal Institute, created in 2001 following the example of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) in the UK, and linked to the Government in power. More independent and also influential are the CIDOB in Barcelona founded in 1973; and FRIDE (Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior) established in 1999 by Diego Hidalgo and main driving force behind projects such as the Club de Madrid, a group of democratic former heads of state and government (including Clinton, Gorbachev, Cardoso or Delors) who provide counsel to governments and institutions all over the world or the Foreign Policy Spanish Edition. Former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar presides over the FAES Fundacion para el Analisis y los Estudios Sociales, a think tank that is associated with the Partido Popular. The Fundación Alternativas -also based in Madrid- is, for its part, close to the leftist parties.
Sweden
In Sweden, the Eudoxa think tank has successfully introduced a combination between studies of free-market ideas, emerging technologies, technological and environmental foresight. Most famous among the Swedish think tanks is Timbro, a free market think tank.
Switzerland
In Switzerland, Avenir Suisse (which proposes a free-market liberalism agenda) is a think tank that is currently active. The Geneva Association (also known as the International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics) is another global think tank. Its main goal is to research the growing economic importance of insurance activities in the major sectors of the economy.
United Kingdom
In Britain, think tanks play a similar role to the United States, attempting to shape policy, and indeed there is some cooperation between British and American think tanks. Some of the major UK think tanks include RUSI, Chatham House, IISS, Policy Exchange, the Globalisation Institute, the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, the Institute for Public Policy Research, Demos, the Social Market Foundation, the Adam Smith Institute, the Centre for Policy Studies, the Overseas Development Institute, the Bruges Group,the Centre for European Reform and The Young Foundation.
- See also: List of UK think tanks.
Other
Bruegel is a Brussels-based European think tank devoted to international economics. It is funded by 16 EU member states and 28 private corporations. International Institute for Non-Aligned Studies is a New Delhi based Think Tank for Non-Aligned Movement
Other countries
Russia
Russian think tanks have experienced a precipitous decline over the past five years. Think tanks under the Soviet Union, analogous to their American counterparts, grew to play a significant role in strategic policy formation. During the era of glasnost, begun by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and continuing under Russian President Boris Yeltsin, public think tanks and policy organizations underwent a brief blooming. However, as economic problems intensified under Yeltsin, and political pressure on public organizations grew under President Vladimir Putin, most of the Russian think tanks have withered away while those who stood closer to Kremlin saw a recent revival.
Philippines
- AIM Policy Center is the public policy think tank of the Asian Institute of Management.
Turkey
Think tanks in Turkey are relatively new business. Many of them are sister organisations of a political party or a company. University think tanks are not typical think tanks. Turkish think tanks provide research and ideas yet they play less important roles in policy making when compared with the American think tanks. Among the most important think tanks in Turkey are the following:
- SAREM (Ankara) is one of the more influential think-tanks in Turkey. It is close to Turkish Armed Forces. It has a well-connected network of individuals, and has members from both the military and Turkish academics.
- TESEV (Istanbul) is a liberal research center in Istanbul. Despite a great amount of influence and reach among the business elites and public opinion, it has a lesser effect on political circles.
- USAK (Ankara) In English, the organization calls itself International Strategic Research Organization, ISRO. On the website, it is claimed that "ISRO is not intended to be a forum for single-issue advocacy or lobbying." It was established in 2004 and is an umbrella organization with 9 research centers. It is liberal and close to the Turkish diplomatic circles, military and political circles. Sponsored by the business community and member donations.
- SETA (Ankara) Established in 2006 and suspected of being close to the Turkish Government. It is known to be conservative.
- ASAM (Ankara) Nationalist and militarist. Sponsored by the nationalist military circles and close to certain factions within the Turkish Armed Forces. The acronym stands for 'Eurasia Strategic Research Center' in Turkish.
- TASAM (Istanbul) stands for Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies
- TUSAM (Ankara) Leftist nationalist is the Strategic Research Center for National Security. It is close to the leftist, nationalist military circles.
- TEPAV (Ankara) Economic Policy Research Institute Established in 2004. Supported by The Union of Chambers of Turkey (TOBB). Working on economy, foreign policy and governance issues. Close to business world and has liberal way of thinking. It has a wide public following and some degree of policy influence.
Iran
Sharif ThinkThank and ASEF are among the oldest think tanks in Iran. Sharif ThinkTank is the first Iranian think tank that has registered by Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (as a national think tank) and a member of NIRA World Directory of Think Tanks 2005[5].
Econotrend is an Iranian thinktank headed by Seyed Muhammad Adeli. ICC's -International Chamber of Commerce- official agent in Iran (called Iranian National Committee) leads business Think Tanks in Iran to handle Iranian ICC members' corporation with the ICC center in Paris.
Brazil
- Instituto Liberdade Instituto Liberdade is a conservative/libertarian Brazilian Think Tank, formed by intellectual entrepreneurs and funded by private sources.
Australia
Most Australian think tanks are based at universities - for example, the Melbourne Institute - or are government funded - for example, the Productivity Commission or the CSIRO.
There are also about 20-30 "independent" Australian think tanks, which are funded by private sources. The best-known of these are:
Think tanks play much more limited role on Australian public and business policy making than in the United States. However, in the past decade the number of think tanks has increased substantially.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is also now active.
New Zealand
Canada
Frontier Centre for Public Policy
Taiwan
- Taiwan Mixed Research Institute (台灣綜合研究院)
- Chunghua Economy Research Institute (中華經濟研究院)
- Taiwan Economy Research Institute (台灣經濟研究院)
- Academia Sinica (中央研究院)
- Warefare Strategy and International Research Center (戰略與國際研究所)
Thailand
- The National Institute of Development Administration
- Focus on the Global South
- The Thailand Development Research Institute Foundation (TDRI)
South Africa
- The South African Institute for International Affairs
- The Brenthurst Foundation
- The Institute for Security Studies
- The Free Market Foundation
- The Africa Institute of South Africa
- The Centre for International Political Studies
Tanzania
- Research on Poverty Alleviation REPOA
Notes
See also
Additional reading
- Dickson, Paul. "Think Tanks". New York: Ballantine Books, 1972. 397 pages.
- Goodman, John C. "What is a Think Tank?" National Center for Policy Analysis, 2005.[12]
- Abelson, Donald E. Do Think Tanks Matter? Assessing the Impact of Public Policy Institutes. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2002.
- Callahan, David. "The Think Tank As Flack, How Microsoft and other corporations use conservative policy groups", Washington Monthly (November 1999).[13]
- Richard Cockett, Thinking the unthinkable: think tanks and the economic counter revolution; 1931 - 1983, London: Fontana, 1995
- Fan, Maureen. "Capital Brain Trust Puts Stamp on the World", Washington Post (16 May 2005): B01.[14]
- Patrick Dixon. Futurewise - Six Faces of Global Change - issues covered by Think Tanks and methodology for reviewing trends, impact on policy 2003): Profile Books
- Lakoff, George. Moral Politics: What Conservatives Know That Liberals Don't. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996.
- Kinau, Jacques. "Start Your Own Tax Exempt Think Tank: Effective Self-Defense Against Corporate and Political Donor Class Tax Predation" [15]
- Morgan, Dan. "Think Tanks: Corporations' Quiet Weapon", Washington Post (29 January 2001): A1.[16]
- Stone, Diane, and Andrew Denham, eds. Think Tank Traditions: Policy Research and the Politics of Ideas. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004.
External links
