87-700: The Niskanen Center is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. that advocates environmentalism , immigration reform , civil liberties , and strengthening social insurance around market-oriented principles. Named after William A. Niskanen , an economic adviser to Ronald Reagan , it states that its "main audience is Washington insiders", and characterizes itself as moderate . The organization has been credited with fostering bipartisan dialogue and promoting pragmatic solutions to contemporary political challenges on issues such as family benefits, climate change, and criminal justice reform. The Niskanen Center
174-478: A marine biologist and granddaughter of James Worth Thornton and Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson. Her step-grandfather was prominent essayist and critic Edmund Wilson . They live in Rhode Island with their two children. Whitehouse is Episcopalian . Among Whitehouse's distant ancestors are William Bradford , governor of Plymouth Colony , and theologian Archibald Alexander . Whitehouse's longtime ties to
261-636: A bill creating a national right to abortion. In 2007, the National Journal ranked Whitehouse the second-most liberal senator. He voted to confirm Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court . In the spring of 2007, Whitehouse joined other senators in calling for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's resignation. After Gonzales's first appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee related to
348-614: A government, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses, or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants. Think tanks publish articles and studies, and sometimes draft legislation on particular matters of policy or society. This information is then used by governments, businesses, media organizations, social movements or other interest groups. Think tanks range from those associated with highly academic or scholarly activities to those that are overtly ideological and pushing for particular policies, with
435-477: A history of accepting dark money and overlooking it when such contributions flow to his Democratic colleagues. Whitehouse critiqued conservative dark money groups who backed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh 's nomination. The Washington Post criticized him for not addressing anti-Kavanaugh groups with the same scrutiny. In 2019, Whitehouse announced that he intended to introduce legislation that would require groups that file amicus curiae briefs with
522-521: A larger mosaic that concentrates all the EPA's enemies against it at one time." According to the progressive media watchdog Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting , both left-wing and right-wing policy institutes are often quoted and rarely identified as such. The result is that think tank "experts" are sometimes depicted as neutral sources without any ideological predispositions when, in fact, they represent
609-558: A long tradition in Rhode Island." A spokesperson for Whitehouse said the club did not have any restrictive racial policies and that it had members of color. Whitehouse declined to provide details of the club's membership, and the club initially refused to answer questions about its policies or membership. The club ultimately put out a statement saying reports that all its members were white were "inaccurate and false". The club's president urged members to use "restraint" when speaking to
696-524: A nearly complete reversal of Taylor's previous advocacy at the Cato Institute , where he was a vocal climate change skeptic . Taylor explained his shift in a 2015 interview with Vox, indicating that he had "fundamentally switched" his previous beliefs on the issue after seeing new scientific evidence and the more general strengthening over time of the case for the dangers of climate change, as well as arguments from fellow libertarians about responses to
783-1147: A number of categories and presents its findings in the Global Go-To Think Tanks rating index. However, this method of the study and assessment of policy institutes has been criticized by researchers such as Enrique Mendizabal and Goran Buldioski, Director of the Think Tank Fund, assisted by the Open Society Institute . Think tanks may attempt to broadly inform the public by holding conferences to discuss issues which they may broadcast; encouraging scholars to give public lectures, testifying before committees of governmental bodies; publishing and widely distributing books, magazines, newsletters or journals; creating mailing lists to distribute new publications; and engaging in social media. Think tanks may privately influence policy by having their members accept bureaucratic positions, having members serve on political advisory boards, inviting policy-makers to events, allowing individuals to work at
870-511: A number of think tanks that are in the form of governmental, non-governmental, and corporate organizations. In China a number of think tanks are sponsored by governmental agencies such as Development Research Center of the State Council , but still retain sufficient non-official status to be able to propose and debate ideas more freely. In January 2012, the first non-official think tank in mainland China, South Non-Governmental Think-Tank,
957-722: A particular perspective. In the United States, think tank publications on education are subjected to expert review by the National Education Policy Center 's "Think Twice" think tank review project. A 2014 New York Times report asserted that foreign governments buy influence at many United States think tanks. According to the article: "More than a dozen prominent Washington research groups have received tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments in recent years while pushing United States government officials to adopt policies that often reflect
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#17327980756641044-590: A range of economic and governance issues confronting Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa . It has also been involved in bringing political parties together to engage in dialogue. In particular it has organised Presidential debates every election year since the Ghanaian presidential election, 1996 . Notable think tanks in Ghana include: Afghanistan has a number of think tanks that are in the form of governmental, non-governmental, and corporate organizations. Bangladesh has
1131-429: A science advisory board to ensure that the planning uses the best available science". Of a proposed action on mandatory emissions curbs, Whitehouse told The Hill , "I am not hearing anybody on our side, even the people who are more economically concerned about the climate legislation who come from coal states, that sort of thing, saying, 'What are we going to say about this, is this a problem?'" Whitehouse dismissed
1218-512: A wide range among them in terms of the quality of their research. Later generations of think tanks have tended to be more ideologically oriented. Modern think tanks began as a phenomenon in the United Kingdom in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with most of the rest being established in other English-speaking countries. Prior to 1945, they tended to focus on the economic issues associated with industrialization and urbanization. During
1305-608: Is a global think tank that works on issues such as Water Diplomacy , Peace and Conflict and Foresight (futures studies) . Think tanks with a development focus include those like the National Centre for Cold-chain Development ('NCCD'), which serve to bring an inclusive policy change by supporting the Planning Commission and related government bodies with industry-specific inputs – in this case, set up at
1392-655: Is collaboration between policy institutes in different countries. For instance, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace operates offices in Washington, D.C. , Beijing , Beirut , Brussels and formerly in Moscow , where it was closed in April 2022. The Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) at the University of Pennsylvania , led by James McGann , annually rates policy institutes worldwide in
1479-452: Is done in public think tanks. There is a strong emphasis on the knowledge-based economy and, according to one respondent, think tank research is generally considered high quality. Japan has over 100 think tanks, most of which cover not only policy research but also economy, technology and so on. Some are government related, but most of the think tanks are sponsored by the private sector. Institute of World Economics and Politics (IWEP) at
1566-570: Is running for a fourth Senate term in 2024. In August 2024, Whitehouse said that if Democrats won control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives in the 2024 elections, they would be "virtually certain" to pass a Supreme Court reform bill by a simple majority, which would evade the 60-vote requirement for cloture . Whitehouse said Democrats would include 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices and establish ethics and recusal rules in an omnibus package that would also include
1653-674: Is to maintain analytical and research support for the President of Kazakhstan. Most Malaysian think tanks are related either to the government or a political party. Historically they focused on defense, politics and policy. However, in recent years, think tanks that focus on international trade, economics, and social sciences have also been founded. Notable think tanks in Malaysia include: Pakistan's think tanks mainly revolve around social policy, internal politics, foreign security issues, and regional geo-politics. Most of these are centered on
1740-476: The Climatic Research Unit conspiracy theory : "Climategate should properly be known as Climategate-gate because it was the scandal that was phony." Whitehouse has said that the development of alternate energy sources , including solar power , will eliminate U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He has cited the installation of new solar panels on three new bank branches in Rhode Island, saying that
1827-471: The Cold War , many more American and other Western think tanks were established, which often guided government Cold War policy. Since 1991, more think tanks have been established in non-Western parts of the world. More than half of all think tanks that exist today were established after 1980. As of 2023, there are more than 11,000 think tanks around the world. According to historian Jacob Soll , while
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#17327980756641914-546: The STOCK Act , which is designed to combat insider trading, by failing to disclose two personal stock purchases by the federal deadline. The stocks in question were for the Target Corporation and Tesla, Inc. Whitehouse's office acknowledged that he missed the disclosure deadline, blaming it on a staff transition in his office. In September 2022, an investigation by The New York Times found that Whitehouse
2001-685: The United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 1993 to 1998 and as the 71st attorney general of Rhode Island from 1999 to 2003. In 2006 , he won his first term to the Senate, defeating Republican incumbent Lincoln Chaffee . Whitehouse was reelected in 2012 , 2018 , and 2024 . A political progressive and climate hawk, Whitehouse became chair of the United States Senate Committee on
2088-686: The University of Virginia School of Law in 1982. Whitehouse worked as a clerk for Justice Richard Neely of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia from 1982 to 1983. He also worked in the Rhode Island Attorney General 's office as a special assistant attorney general from 1985 to 1990, chief of the Regulatory Unit (which oversaw utilities) from 1988 to 1990, and as an assistant attorney general from 1989 to 1990. Whitehouse worked as Rhode Island Governor Bruce Sundlun 's executive counsel beginning in 1991, and
2175-516: The controversy , Whitehouse told NPR , "[Gonzales] had a hard sell to make to me, and he didn't make it." He continued to question Gonzales's service in the NSA warrantless surveillance controversy . Upon Attorney General Eric Holder 's announcement in September 2014 of his intention to step down, some speculated that Whitehouse could be nominated as Holder's replacement. In February 2016, after
2262-513: The gun show loophole and boyfriend loophole . He voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act . During its passage, Whitehouse cautioned that conservative opposition to the bill was moving toward historical instances of mob violence. In December 2009, Whitehouse said " birthers ", "fanatics", and "people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups" opposed Obamacare. In September 2014, Whitehouse
2349-485: The 1950s, the phrase "think tank" did not refer to organizations. From its first appearances in the 1890s up to the 1950s, the phrase was most commonly used in American English to colloquially refer to the braincase or especially in a pejorative context to the human brain itself when commenting on an individual's failings (in the sense that something was wrong with that person's "think tank"). Around 1958,
2436-421: The 1980s as a result of globalization, the end of the Cold War , and the emergence of transnational problems. Two-thirds of all the think tanks that exist today were established after 1970 and more than half were established since 1980. The effect of globalisation on the proliferation of think tanks is most evident in regions such as Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia, where there
2523-526: The 20th century, such institutes were found primarily in the United States, along with much smaller numbers in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Western Europe. Although think tanks had also existed in Japan for some time, they generally lacked independence, having close associations with government ministries or corporations. There has been a veritable proliferation of "think tanks" around the world that began during
2610-812: The Budget in 2023. He has given hundreds of Senate floor speeches about climate change and has made his assertion that politically conservative " dark money " groups are conducting a campaign to seize control of the American government, specifically the Supreme Court of the United States , a hallmark of his Senate tenure. Whitehouse was born on October 20, 1955, in New York City, the son of Mary Celine (née Rand) and career diplomat Charles Sheldon Whitehouse , and grandson of diplomat Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse (1883–1965). Whitehouse's father served as
2697-496: The Energy Department be granted maximum funding for carbon capture , utilization and storage (CCUS), arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in capturing carbon emissions and expressing disagreement with President Trump's 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that do carbon capture research. Since 2012, Whitehouse has spoken on the Senate floor about climate change every week
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2784-522: The FBI investigation of Kavanaugh had been "fake", saying "This kind of paranoid obsession is Nixonian poison to public trust." On July 9, 2024, it was reported that Whitehouse and Senator Ron Wyden sent a official letter the previous week to Attorney General Merrick Garland requesting him to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for possible tax and ethics violations. In 1986, Whitehouse married Sandra Thornton,
2871-636: The Foundation of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was created in 2003. IWEP activities aimed at research problems of the world economy, international relations, geopolitics, security, integration and Eurasia, as well as the study of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and its contribution to the establishment and strengthening of Kazakhstan as an independent state,
2958-595: The Philippines could be generally categorized in terms of their linkages with the national government. Several were set up by the Philippine government for the specific purpose of providing research input into the policy-making process. Sri Lanka has a number of think tanks that are in the form of governmental, non-governmental and corporate organizations. There are several think tanks in Singapore that advise
3045-612: The Rhode Island band Downtown Boys , contributed to changing his position. Whitehouse is a supporter of gun control legislation. In 2022, Whitehouse voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act , a gun reform bill introduced following a deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The bill enhanced background checks for firearm purchasers under the age of 21, provided funding for school-based mental health services, and partially closed
3132-737: The Senate has been in session, giving his 250th speech on the issue on July 24, 2019. Whitehouse was a member of the Senate Democrats' Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which published a report of its findings in August 2020. Whitehouse supported a vote that would limit continuing U.S. support for the War in Yemen . Initially, he was one of the two Democratic holdouts in the Senate, but an activist effort, including mobilizing fans of
3219-639: The Supreme Court: The Big-Money Assault on Our Judiciary". He alleged that a "multi-hundred million dollar covert operation" influences the U.S. Supreme Court. Also in March 2021, Whitehouse wrote U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland a letter asking him to investigate "what appears to have been a politically constrained and perhaps fake FBI investigation into alleged misconduct by now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh." Senator Ben Sasse critiqued Whitehouse's allegation that
3306-620: The Supreme Court—even as that 'dark money' now floods in to support the judicial nomination process his party controls." Roll Call wrote that when talking about undisclosed political spending, Whitehouse "can sound conspiratorial". Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute , serving as a witness at one of Whitehouse's congressional hearings about political spending, said Whitehouse was on a "quixotic crusade". The New York Times and Wall Street Journal have complained that, while positioning himself as someone opposed to dark money, Whitehouse has
3393-538: The U.S. Ambassador to Thailand and Laos . Among his great-great-grandfathers were Episcopalian bishop Henry John Whitehouse and railroad robber baron Charles Crocker , who was among the founders of the Central Pacific Railroad . Whitehouse graduated from St. Paul's School , an elite boarding school in Concord , New Hampshire, and from Yale College in 1978. He received his Juris Doctor from
3480-530: The U.S. Senate seat held by Lincoln Chafee , a Republican , on April 4, 2005. By September 30, he had raised over $ 600,000 for his campaign, including $ 360,000 of his own, more than doubling Chafee's fundraising. Whitehouse campaigned heavily against the Iraq War and the United States's dependence on foreign oil. After winning the Democratic primary by a large margin, he defeated Chafee with 53 percent of
3567-634: The U.S. Supreme Court to disclose their donors. Whitehouse has received over $ 175,000 in campaign donations from the League of Conservation Voters . Billionaire Tom Steyer has donated $ 17,300 directly to Whitehouse since 2006. Other donors to Whitehouse include the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council . In March 2021, Whitehouse convened a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled "What's Wrong with
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3654-538: The actions of think tanks and potentially bypass the political process, analysing the social background and values of those who work in think tanks. Pautz criticizes this viewpoint because there is in practice a variety of viewpoints in think tanks and argues it dismisses the influence that ideas can have. In some cases, corporate interests, military interests and political groups have found it useful to create policy institutes, advocacy organizations, and think tanks. For example, The Advancement of Sound Science Coalition
3741-482: The amount of federal activity nearby. In July 2020, he cosponsored a Senate bill to grant D.C. statehood. In November 2011, Whitehouse introduced the Safeguarding America's Future and Environment (SAFE) Act, a bill that would require federal natural resource agencies to be concerned with the long-term effects of climate change, encourage states to prepare natural resource adaptation plans, and "create
3828-458: The behest of the government to direct cold chain development. Some think tanks have a fixed set of focus areas and they work towards finding out policy solutions to social problems in the respective areas. Initiatives such as National e-Governance Plan (to automate administrative processes) and National Knowledge Network (NKN) (for data and resource sharing amongst education and research institutions), if implemented properly, should help improve
3915-773: The capital, Islamabad . One such think tank is the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), which focuses on policy advocacy and research particularly in the area of environment and social development. Another policy research institute based in Islamabad is the Institute of Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS) which works in the fields of education, health, disaster risk reduction, governance , conflict and stabilization. Since 2007 - 2008, I-SAPS has been analyzing public expenditure of federal and provincial governments. Think tanks in
4002-497: The challenge of climate change that were consistent with, and even required by, a libertarian political stance. In November 2015 the Niskanen Center announced the founding of a new Center for Climate Science under the direction of Dr. Joseph Majkut , a climatologist who previously served on the staff of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). The Niskanen Center is pro-immigration. Niskanen has hosted two Hill events focusing on
4089-575: The church spans from Charlemagne all the way to the 17th century, when the kings of France were still arguing about whether they had the right to appoint bishops and receive a cut of their income." Soll cites as an early example the Académie des frères Dupuy , created in Paris around 1620 by the brothers Pierre and Jacques Dupuy and also known after 1635 as the cabinet des frères Dupuy . The Club de l'Entresol , active in Paris between 1723 and 1731,
4176-645: The construction of a discourse coalition with a common aim, citing the example of deregulation of trucking, airlines, and telecommunications in the 1970s. Plejwe argues that this deregulation represented a discourse coalition between the Ford Motor Company , FedEx , neo-liberal economists, the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute . Elite theory considers how an "elite" influence
4263-776: The death of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia , USA Today named Whitehouse as a possible nominee to fill the vacancy. Whitehouse's service as a U.S. Attorney and as Attorney General of Rhode Island gives him both legislative experience and experience as a legal official, though not as a judge. Whitehouse was ultimately not nominated. Whitehouse has faced some criticism for alleged insider trading , avoiding big losses by trading stocks after top federal officials warned congressional leaders of "the coming economic cataclysm" on September 16, 2008. After meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on September 16, and being briefed on
4350-584: The development of international cooperation and the promotion of peace and stability. The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the RK (KazISS) was established by the Decree of the President of RK on 16 June 1993. Since its foundation the main mission of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as a national think tank,
4437-625: The donors' priorities." Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah , set up various state-supported think tanks in the 1960s. By the 1990s, a variety of policy research centers sprang up in Africa set up by academics who sought to influence public policy in Ghana. One such think tank was The Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana , which was founded in 1989 when the country was ruled by the Provisional National Defence Council . The IEA undertakes and publishes research on
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#17327980756644524-530: The elite private club Bailey's Beach have attracted scrutiny. The New York Times called the club a haven for members of America's "ruling class" and various media outlets have said it has an all-white membership. In June 2021, Whitehouse defended his family's membership in the club. Asked whether the club had any nonwhite members, he replied, "I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I'm sorry it hasn't happened yet." Asked whether such clubs should continue to exist, he said, "It's
4611-437: The experts they fund for future government jobs, while others want to push specific areas of research or education." McGann distinguishes think tanks based on independence, source of funding and affiliation, grouping think tanks into autonomous and independent, quasi-independent, government affiliated, quasi-governmental, university affiliated, political-party affiliated or corporate. A new trend, resulting from globalization,
4698-784: The first organization to be regularly described in published writings as "the Think Tank" (note the title case and the use of the definite article ) was the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences . However, the Center does not count itself as and is not perceived to be a think tank in the contemporary sense. During the 1960s, the phrase "think tank" was attached more broadly to meetings of experts, electronic computers , and independent military planning organizations. The prototype and most prominent example of
4785-479: The government on various policies and as well as private ones for corporations within the region. Many of them are hosted within the local public educational institutions. Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party , he served as
4872-453: The imposition of a global carbon tax for the purpose of offsetting global warming and the effects of climate change. The Center also endorses the understanding of climate change as anthropogenic and believes that government action is a necessary component of mitigating the risks associated with long term sea level rise and extreme weather events associated with climate change. The Niskanen Center's support for carbon taxation represents
4959-495: The media. Whitehouse said he would not ask his family members to resign from the club because "they are on the right side of pushing for improvements" and "my relationship with my family is not one in which I tell them what to do". Whitehouse later acknowledged belonging to a Newport sailing club that he said lacked diversity, saying, "Failing to address the sailing club's lack of diversity is squarely on me, and something for which I am sorry." John Rothman portrayed Whitehouse in
5046-532: The more established think tanks, created during the Cold War , are focused on international affairs, security studies, and foreign policy. Think tanks vary by ideological perspectives, sources of funding, topical emphasis and prospective consumers. Funding may also represent who or what the institution wants to influence; in the United States, for example, "Some donors want to influence votes in Congress or shape public opinion, others want to position themselves or
5133-574: The organization announced that Ted Gayer , an executive vice president at the Brookings Institution , would serve as the Niskanen's next president. Gayer started in his role on August 1, 2022. The Niskanen Center's policy approach combines market-oriented policies with support for a strong welfare state. The organization focuses on a number of distinct areas of public policy including climate change, social insurance policy, healthcare, immigration reform, and civil liberties. The Niskanen Center advocates
5220-607: The organization in recent years. Other donors include the Open Philanthropy Project , which supports the center's work to expand legal immigration, the Linden Trust for Conservation , which provided the Niskanen Center with a grant "to develop and analyze a potential economy-wide carbon tax", and the Hewlett Foundation , which provided the Center with a $ 400,000 operations grant. In May 2022,
5307-420: The other inaccuracies in Whitehouse's speech". In a May 29, 2015, Washington Post editorial, Whitehouse advocated prosecution of members of the fossil fuel industry under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) . In April 2019, Whitehouse was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that
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#17327980756645394-438: The position for four years. With the 1996 extortion conviction of mobster Gerard Ouimette , he was the first prosecutor to convict a member of organized crime under Clinton's " three strikes law ". Ouimette was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Whitehouse initiated the investigation into municipal corruption in Rhode Island that led to Operation Plunder Dome , in which Mayor of Providence Vincent "Buddy" Cianci
5481-410: The practical benefits of refugee resettlement to the U.S. Think tank A think tank , or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy , political strategy , economics , military , technology , and culture . Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations , but some are semi-autonomous agencies within
5568-505: The projects "created jobs, they put people to work, they lowered the cost for these banks of their electrical energy, and they get us off foreign oil and away, step by step, from these foreign entanglements that we have to get into to defend our oil supply". PolitiFact investigated the economics of renewable energy and determined that solar and wind investments would not have a large effect on oil consumption, calling Whitehouse's comments "mostly false" due to "this misimpression—and because of
5655-399: The quality of work done by think tanks. Some notable think tanks in India include: Over 50 think tanks have emerged in Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan Region. Iraq's leading think tank is the Middle East Research Institute (MERI), based in Erbil. MERI is an independent non-governmental policy research organization, established in 2014 and publishes in English, Kurdish, and Arabic. It
5742-450: The questions of the federal government." In the early 1920s, fascist and other far-right think tanks appeared in the Netherlands . After 1945, the number of policy institutes increased, with many small new ones forming to express various issues and policy agendas. Until the 1940s, most think tanks were known only by the name of the institution. During the Second World War, think tanks were often referred to as "brain boxes". Before
5829-477: The shooting. Later that year, Whitehouse was criticized when 15-year-old Jennifer Rivera, a witness in a murder case, was shot by a relative of the man she was to testify against later that year. Whitehouse ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Rhode Island in 2002. He lost the primary election to former State Senator Myrth York , who was unsuccessful in the general election against Republican Donald Carcieri . Whitehouse launched his campaign for
5916-418: The term "think tank" is modern, with its origin "traced to the humanist academies and scholarly networks of the 16th and 17th centuries," Soll writes that, "in Europe, the origins of think tanks go back to the 800s when emperors and kings began arguing with the Catholic Church about taxes. A tradition of hiring teams of independent lawyers to advise monarchs about their financial and political prerogatives against
6003-511: The think tank; employing former policy-makers; or preparing studies for policy makers. The role of think tanks has been conceptualized through the lens of social theory. Plehwe argues that think tanks function knowledge actors within a network of relationships with other knowledge actors. Such relationships including citing academics in publications or employing them on advisory boards, as well as relationships with media, political groups and corporate funders. They argue that these links allow for
6090-417: The third category was the RAND Corporation , which was founded in 1946 as an offshoot of Douglas Aircraft and became an independent corporation in 1948. In the 1970s, the phrase became more specifically defined in terms of RAND and others. During the 1980s and 1990s, the phrase evolved again to arrive at its broader contemporary meaning of an independent public policy research institute. For most of
6177-484: The transfer of sovereignty to China in 1997, 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; and promoting "public understanding of and participation in the political, economic, and social development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ". Think tanks in Hong Kong include: India has
6264-568: The unfolding financial crisis, Whitehouse sold a number of positions, valued between $ 250,000 and $ 600,000, over the next six days. After coming under scrutiny due to possible insider trading, a spokesperson for his office denied it, saying Whitehouse "is not actively involved in the management" of the implicated accounts and that he "neither directed his financial advisor to undertake any transaction during that time, nor ever took advantage of any exclusive or secret information". In March 2022, Business Insider reported that Whitehouse had violated
6351-460: The vote in the 2006 general election. With his victory, Whitehouse became the first Democrat to win this Senate seat since John Pastore in 1970 . On November 6, 2012, Whitehouse won reelection to a second term in office, defeating Republican challenger Barry Hinckley by 30 points, with 64.9 percent of the total vote. On November 6, 2018, Whitehouse was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican Robert Flanders by 23 points. Whitehouse
6438-547: The world's second-largest number of think tanks . Most are based in New Delhi, and a few are government-sponsored. There are few think tanks that promote environmentally responsible and climate resilient ideas like Centre for Science and Environment , Centre for Policy Research and World Resources Institute . There are other prominent think tanks like Observer Research Foundation , Tillotoma Foundation and Centre for Civil Society . In Mumbai, Strategic Foresight Group
6525-547: Was a concerted effort by other countries to assist in the creation of independent public policy research organizations. A survey performed by the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program underscores the significance of this effort and documents the fact that most of the think tanks in these regions have been established since 1992. As of 2014 , there were more than 11,000 of these institutions worldwide. Many of
6612-506: Was among the members of Congress who had bought or sold stock that intersected with his congressional work, including trading stock in public companies that came before the committees on which he serves. In a 2018 interview with the Providence Journal , Whitehouse expressed opposition to D.C. statehood . He was dismissive of efforts to give District residents representation in Congress, suggesting they should be satisfied with
6699-542: Was another prominent example of an early independent think tank focusing on public policy and current affairs, especially economics and foreign affairs. Several major current think tanks were founded in the 19th century. The Royal United Services Institute was founded in 1831 in London , and the Fabian Society in 1884. The oldest United States –based think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ,
6786-626: Was established in the Guangdong province. In 2009 the China Center for International Economic Exchanges was founded. In Hong Kong, early think tanks established in the late 1980s and early 1990s focused on political development, including the 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
6873-419: Was eventually convicted on conspiracy charges. In 1998, Whitehouse was elected Rhode Island Attorney General . He initiated a lawsuit against the lead paint industry that ended in a mistrial; the state later won a second lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers Sherwin-Williams , Millennium Holdings, and NL Industries that found them responsible for creating a public nuisance. This decision, however,
6960-578: Was formed in the mid-1990s to dispute research finding an association between second-hand smoke and cancer . Military contractors may spend a portion of their tender on funding pro-war think tanks. According to an internal memorandum from Philip Morris Companies referring to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), "The credibility of the EPA is defeatable, but not on the basis of ETS [ environmental tobacco smoke ] alone,... It must be part of
7047-412: Was founded in Washington, D.C. , in 1910 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie . Carnegie charged trustees to use the fund to "hasten the abolition of international war, the foulest blot upon our civilization." The Brookings Institution was founded shortly thereafter in 1916 by Robert S. Brookings and was conceived as a bipartisan "research center modeled on academic institutions and focused on addressing
7134-471: Was founded in early 2015 by Jerry Taylor . At its launch, the center was composed primarily of former staffers of the Cato Institute who departed in the wake of a 2012 leadership struggle pitting Ed Crane against the Koch Brothers for control of the libertarian think tank. Taylor and vice president Joe Coon publicly aligned themselves with Crane during the dispute. Both departed shortly after Crane
7221-434: Was later tapped to serve as director of policy. He oversaw the state's response to the Rhode Island banking crisis that took place soon after Sundlun took office. In 1992, Sundlun appointed Whitehouse the state's Director of Business Regulation, where he oversaw the state's workers' compensation insurance system. President Bill Clinton appointed Whitehouse United States Attorney for Rhode Island in 1994. Whitehouse held
7308-631: Was listed in the global ranking by the United States's Lauder Institute of the University of Pennsylvania as 46th in the Middle East. There are many think tank teams in Israel, including: In South Korea , think tanks are prolific and influential and are a government go-to. Think tanks are prolific in the Korean landscape. Many policy research organisations in Korea focus on economoy and most research
7395-772: Was one of 69 members of Congress to sign a letter to then- FDA commissioner Sylvia Burwell requesting that the FDA revise its policy banning donation of corneas and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in the preceding five years. He has publicly supported reintroducing the Equal Rights Amendment . Whitehouse has been a staunch critic of so-called " dark money ", or political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors. According to Roll Call , "Whitehouse hasn't been as convincing as he'd hoped in his campaign to curb conservative anonymous donors and their influence on
7482-457: Was replaced by John Allison as Cato's president as part of the settlement with the Kochs. Funding for the center includes donors who seek to counter libertarian-conservative hostility to measures against global warming . North Carolina businessman Jay Faison , a Republican donor, made an early contribution to the Niskanen Center to spur public climate education but has ceased all ties to
7569-567: Was unanimously overturned by the Rhode Island Supreme Court on July 1, 2008. The court found that under Rhode Island law it is the responsibility of property owners to abate and mitigate lead hazards. When Black Providence police officer Cornel Young Jr. was shot and killed by two fellow officers while he was off duty in January 2000, Whitehouse was criticized for not appointing an independent prosecutor to investigate
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