Capitol Idea

Capitol Idea

Author: Donald E. Abelson

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2006-08-14

Total Pages: 577

ISBN-13: 0773580395

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Abelson focuses on a host of high profile think tanks - including the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, and the Project for the New American Century - and on the public and private channels they rely on to influence important and controversial foreign policies, including the development and possible deployment of a National Missile Defense and George Bush's controversial war on terror. In the process of uncovering how some of the nation's most prominent think tanks have established themselves as key players in the political arena, he challenges traditional approaches to assessing policy influence and suggests alternative models.


Think Tanks and Power in Foreign Policy

Think Tanks and Power in Foreign Policy

Author: I. Parmar

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2004-03-31

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 9781403921031

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What is the role of elites in shaping foreign policy? Did unaccountable foreign policy elites shape the post-1945 world order? Chatham House and the Council on Foreign Relations were vital in America's shift from isolationism to globalism, and in Britain's shift from Empire to its current pro-American orientation and were also fundamental in engineering public backing for a new world order. Inderjeet Parmar presents new evidence to show how well-organized and well-connected elite think tanks helped to change the world.


Think Tanks and Policy Advice in the US

Think Tanks and Policy Advice in the US

Author: James G. McGann

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-03-12

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1135981353

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This volume chronicles and analyzes the development of think tanks and public policy research organizations, while exploring the impact think tanks have on politics, public policies, and governance in the US. Think Tanks and Policy Advice in the US investigates the distinctive nature of thirty leading think tanks in America, while capturing the political and intellectual ecology of the more than 1,500 think tanks in the US. Presidents from twenty think tanks have contributed insightful essays that examine the role, value, and impact of these organizations on a national and global level. The book examines a range of key factors (partisan politics; growth of liberal and conservative advocacy groups; restrictive funding policies of donors; growth of specialized think tanks; narrow and short-term orientation of Congress and the White House; tyranny of myopic academic disciplines; and the 24/7 cable news networks) which have impacted on the ability of think tanks to provide independent analysis and advice. This text fills a gap in the available literature and will serve as a valuable reference tool for policy makers, the media, and researchers in the fields of public policy, political science, and American politics more generally.


American Think-tanks and Their Role in US Foreign Policy

American Think-tanks and Their Role in US Foreign Policy

Author: Donald E. Abelson

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 9780312128296

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Although think-tanks are often regarded as scientific and non-partisan organizations committed to improving governmental decision-making, they have clearly demonstrated in recent years that they have other goals in mind. No longer content observing domestic and foreign affairs from the comfort of their book-lined offices, think-tanks, not unlike interest groups and lobbyists, have made a concerted effort to become an integral part of the policy-making process. This study examines the growing involvement of think-tanks in American politics and explores the many governmental and non-governmental channels they rely on to exercise influence.


Think Tanks in America

Think Tanks in America

Author: Thomas Medvetz

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-09-06

Total Pages: 339

ISBN-13: 0226517292

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Over the past half-century, think tanks have become fixtures of American politics, supplying advice to presidents and policy makers, expert testimony on Capitol Hill, and convenient facts and figures to journalists and media specialists. But what are think tanks? Who funds them? What kind of “research” do they produce? Where does their authority come from? And how influential have they become? In Think Tanks in America, Thomas Medvetz argues that the unsettling ambiguity of the think tank is less an accidental feature of its existence than the very key to its impact. By combining elements of more established sources of public knowledge—universities, government agencies, businesses, and the media—think tanks exert a tremendous amount of influence on the way citizens and lawmakers perceive the world, unbound by the more clearly defined roles of those other institutions. In the process, they transform the government of this country, the press, and the political role of intellectuals. Timely, succinct, and instructive, this provocative book will force us to rethink our understanding of the drivers of political debate in the United States.


Think Tanks and Foreign Policy

Think Tanks and Foreign Policy

Author: Howard J. Wiarda

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 171

ISBN-13: 0739141627

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Think tanks have become increasingly important in American politics foreign policy. In the last thirty years think tanks have emerged as major actors on the political stage, comparable in influence to large interest groups, political parties, and government agencies. In the same time span these think tanks have replaced universities as the main source for new policy ideas and the background research and arguments to justify them. This book discusses think tanks in general but focuses specifically on the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) in Philadelphia. Though a smallish "tank," FPRI has been enormously influential, feeding its ideas into government and policy debate even at the level of presidential politics. The author discusses FPRI within the context of the growing influence of presidential politics. The author discusses FPRI within the context of the growing influence of think tanks over public policy in general and foreign policy in particular.


Think Tanks, Foreign Policy and Geo-Politics

Think Tanks, Foreign Policy and Geo-Politics

Author: Donald E. Abelson

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2016-09-13

Total Pages: 219

ISBN-13: 1317010663

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Questions about the role and influence of think tanks in matters of foreign policy and geopolitics are both timely and important. The reconfiguration of global power, explosion of social media, shifts away from traditional print and oral-based ways of imparting knowledge, and the dramatic increase in the volume of information and ideas clamoring for the attention of policy-makers are changing the landscape of foreign policy-making and the pathways through which influence is achieved. This book explains the impact of think tanks on the framing of domestic and international conversations on matters of foreign policy and geopolitics. An international group of prominent experts examine these issues in specific countries and also across national and regional borders to better understand how governments and actors in civil society are influenced by the activities of think tanks.


China's Influence and American Interests

China's Influence and American Interests

Author: Larry Diamond

Publisher: Hoover Press

Published: 2019-08-01

Total Pages: 223

ISBN-13: 0817922865

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While Americans are generally aware of China's ambitions as a global economic and military superpower, few understand just how deeply and assertively that country has already sought to influence American society. As the authors of this volume write, it is time for a wake-up call. In documenting the extent of Beijing's expanding influence operations inside the United States, they aim to raise awareness of China's efforts to penetrate and sway a range of American institutions: state and local governments, academic institutions, think tanks, media, and businesses. And they highlight other aspects of the propagandistic “discourse war” waged by the Chinese government and Communist Party leaders that are less expected and more alarming, such as their view of Chinese Americans as members of a worldwide Chinese diaspora that owes undefined allegiance to the so-called Motherland.Featuring ideas and policy proposals from leading China specialists, China's Influence and American Interests argues that a successful future relationship requires a rebalancing toward greater transparency, reciprocity, and fairness. Throughout, the authors also strongly state the importance of avoiding casting aspersions on Chinese and on Chinese Americans, who constitute a vital portion of American society. But if the United States is to fare well in this increasingly adversarial relationship with China, Americans must have a far better sense of that country's ambitions and methods than they do now.


Do Think Tanks Matter?

Do Think Tanks Matter?

Author: Donald E. Abelson

Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP

Published: 2009-09

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 0773575413

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Assessing the evolution and influence of public policy institutes.