Tank-Thinking: Its Evolution and Its Current Milieu

In: Journal of policy history: JPH, Band 8, Heft 2, S. 267-272

Abstract

A review essay on books by (1) Michael J. Lacey & Mary O. Furner (Eds), The State and Social Investigation in Britain and the United States (Washington, DC, & Cambridge, England: Woodrow Wilson Center Press & Cambridge U Press, 1993); & (2) David M. Ricci, The Transformation of American Politics: The New Washington and the Rise of Think Tanks (New Haven, CT: Yale U Press, 1993). The proceedings of the Wilson Center symposium in Washington, DC, edited by Lacey & Furner traces the evolution of public policy research organizations over 200 years in the US & GB, where they were established as part of the emerging liberal belief that scientific investigation could provide the foundation for fair legislation & distributive justice. Despite the early development of a self-conscious community of experts, the Lacey & Furner volume argues that the financial, industrial, & political elite gained control over these organizations & intellectual communities during the early 20th century. Ricci examines the development of contemporary think tanks in Washington, DC, & suggests that they were formed in reaction to the growing size, complexity, demands, & external influences of US politics. Although an increasing number of think tanks are politically & ideologically motivated, Ricci concludes that a great demand for impartial knowledge still exists in Washington, & truly independent think tanks still enjoy the greatest degree of respect & influence. T. Sevier