Think Tanks as Policy Actors

Master 2020/2021

Type: Elective course (Political Analysis and Public Policy)

Area of studies: Political Science

Delivered by: Public Policy Department

Where: Faculty of Social Sciences

When: 2 year, 1, 2 module

Mode of studies: offline

Instructors: Nina Y. Belyaeva, Alexandra Alexandrovna Moskovskaya, Artem Uldanov

Master’s programme: Political Analysis and Public Policy

Language: English

ECTS credits: 5

Contact hours: 40

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Abstract

This course is a professional one, taught in the second year of master’s program ‘Political Analysis and Public Policy’ for specialization ‘Political Analysis and Public Policy’. This is an optional course that require prior knowledge in political science and public policy analysis. The course is aimed to provide students with general knowledge about roles and places of think tanks in public policy process with particular attention to features of their work, their types and strategies on advisory market. This course will give you theoretical and conceptual knowledge about think tanks, policy advisory systems, and practical insights on the functioning of diverse think tanks around the globe. Think tanks in XX century became a strong actor not only in intellectual support of policy-makers, but also in policy-making process itself. Their knowledge and expertise might be valuable in very different spheres and even authoritarian governments do not deny possibility to use think tanks’ support for better policy-making. During the course, we will have a look on different regions and markets where think tanks operating and see how influential and successful they could be in various environments.

Learning Objectives

To show possibilities of the political analysis in defining of political actors, a role and a place of not-governmental actors in political process, in an estimation of their political status and influence
To analyze activity of the main Russian and foreign think tanks their role in policymaking and types of their participation in this process
To understand features and characteritics of policy advisory systems in different regions
To study how think tanks could positively contribute to the quality of policy decisions and development of democratic institutions in a country

Expected Learning Outcomes

Know the general characteristics of a think tank and able to define them
Know definition of think tanks and their basic distinctive features from other institutes of intellectual policy support
Able to structure and define types of analytical centers and their role in political process
Be able to structure and define types of analytical centers and their role in political process
Know the methodological approaches to the analysis of role and place of think tanks in political process, function and forms of their participation in political process
Be able to define possible set of resources and strategies of think tanks, types of think tanks, based on their role in political process, types of analytical products of think tanks
Be able to conduct a research on activities of think-tanks with the ability to compare think tanks with each other, based on the clearly defined criteria and their influence on political process in respected countries

Course Contents

Introduction to the course
What is a think tank and how can we define it? How the first think tanks were established and why Anglo-Saxon countries led this process?
Evolution of intellectual support of policymaking: from advisers to expert organizations
How kings and rulers of the past organized work of their advisors and who were involved in policy advisory in different periods of time? Role of Catholic Church, lawyers, scholars, "mages", sages and alchemists in policy advisory processes. Preconditions for institutionalization of expert bureau and creation of modern think tanks in the U.S and Britain
Typology of Think tanks
How we can categorize think tanks and put them into different brackets. What kind of features could be used to define think tanks? ‘Universities without students’, contract research organizations and advocacy centers
Think Tanks and global politics
After the end of the Cold War, think tanks underwent another profound evolution. During this era of rapid globalization, US think tanks expanded in size, as the demand to understand and engage in the world has grown. Some have opened think tanks in key capitals around the world. Specialized think tanks have also flourished across the West, responding to the demand for analysis of particular dimensions of globalization. The rapid growth of think tank capacity on climate change, development assistance, cyber security, global health and international finance, has reflected the deepening of international interdependence.
Think tanks in different regions of the world
The state of play with think tanks in CIS region with the focus on Russian cases; the U.S; and European countries
Think tanks, evidence-based policymaking and expertise in policy processes
How thinks tanks can improve quality of public administration and balance different issues of policymaking process? The opportunities for think tanks to rely on the trickle-down technique of taskforces and study groups to influence policymaking are shrinking. Indeed, if they want to influence policy, think tanks must apply a growing proportion of their resources to try to mobilize popular engagement with their ideas.
Policy advisory systems
Think tank outputs now extend beyond traditional expert reports and executive summaries to blogs, infographics and sophisticated data analytics. These, then, enable think tanks to inform policy audiences about the resonance that their ideas are having among relevant constituencies and these constituencies are no longer just to meet decision makers and opinion-shapers, but increasingly, the larger interested public, whose engagement is needed to legitimize the policy influence of think tank ideas.

Assessment Elements

Reflection paper
Individual presentation in class
Final essay

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (2 module)
0.5 * Final essay + 0.2 * Individual presentation in class + 0.3 * Reflection paper

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Abelson, D. E. (2018). Do Think Tanks Matter? Third Edition : Assessing the Impact of Public Policy Institutes (Vol. Third edition, revvised and expanded). Montreal: MQUP. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1944843
James G. McGann. (2018). 2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.13E9CE4F
Kubilay Yado, A. (2013). Think Tanks : The Brain Trusts of US Foreign Policy. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=618323
McGann, J. G. (2019). Think Tanks : The New Knowledge and Policy Brokers in Asia. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution Press and ADBI. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=2040635
Oxford handbook of governance / ed. by David Levi-Faur. (2012). Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.362893454
Rich, A. (2004). Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=161170
Think tanks and strategic policy-making: the contribution of think tanks to policy advisory systems. (2017). POLICY SCIENCES, 50(1), 105–124. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsnar&AN=edsnar.oai.openaccess.leidenuniv.nl.1887.55212
Think tanks should come out of the shadows. (2019). Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.F465758B

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Bergmair, B., Buchegger, T., Hoffelner, J., Schatz, G., Silber, S., & Klinglmayr, J. (2018). Instantly Deployable Expert Knowledge - Networks of Knowledge Engines. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsarx&AN=edsarx.1811.02964
Guzansky, Y. (2017). Foreign policy think tanks and decision making processes. Strategic Assessment, 20(2), 125–135. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsram&AN=edsram.000596158
Hoppe, R. (2008). Scientific advice and public policy: expert advisers’ and policymakers’ discourses on boundary work. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsbas&AN=edsbas.D041BB
Lavertu, S., & Weimer, D. (2009). Information Costs, Policy Uncertainty, and Political Control: Federal Advisory Committees at the FDA. Conference Papers —— Midwestern Political Science Association, 1. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=poh&AN=45298430
Think tanks in policy making - do they matter? / Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. (2011). Shanghai: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.38937346X

Course Syllabus