Misplaced Pages

#15984

57-717: The Scotland Institute is a think tank operating in Scotland which describes itself as "progressive and independent". It was founded and entirely funded by Dr Azeem Ibrahim, a Glasgow-born expert in strategic policy development, and formally launched in June 2012 by politicians Alistair Darling , former Chancellor of the Exchequer , Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson , SNP Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Jim Mather MSP and Scottish Conservative Jackson Carlaw . The institute examined questions around Scottish independence from

114-851: A Fernand Braudel Professor at the European University Institute in Florence in 2007; a visiting fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge in 2009; and a visiting fellow at the Max Planck Institute in 2018. In 2013, Soll delivered the Huygens-Descartes Lecture at the Akadamie van Wetenschappen in Amsterdam. Soll was named a university professor by USC president C. L. Max Nikias in 2018. Soll's first book, Publishing The Prince (2005), examines

171-552: A follow-up article expanding the Institute's findings. The institute states that it provides “objective analysis from credible scholars” in its compiling of reports. Its widely reported defence paper included commentary and analysis from Major-General Andrew Mackay CBE, a former Afghanistan Task Force Commander, as well as former secretaries of defence and various eminent scholars. The report, published on 20 June 2013, concluded that Scotland could have its own defence force, but that

228-614: 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

285-521: 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

342-599: A manner that transformed established works, imbuing books previously considered as supporting royal power with an alternate, even revolutionary, political message. Publishing "The Prince" was the winner of the American Philosophical Society 's 2005 Barzun Prize. In his second book, The Information Master (2009), he investigates the formation of a state-information gathering and classifying network by Louis XIV 's chief minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert , revealing that Colbert's passion for information

399-554: A neutral, academic perspective and produced a number of policy reports, including well-referenced reports on defence provision, poverty and social exclusion in the run-up to and following the independence referendum in Scotland Its 'Defence and Security in an independent Scotland' document considered the impact on defence in Scotland in the event of a Yes vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum . Dr Ibrahim also wrote

456-1147: 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

513-511: 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,

570-722: 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

627-590: 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

SECTION 10

#1732773141016

684-719: A way of investigating the rise and fall of nations. It also led to Soll taking an active role in advising the Greek government during its debt crisis. He addressed the Hellenic Parliament about the history of public financial management in June 2018, on the eve of the end of the Greek bailout. Soll has worked closely with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez , and has advised the Portuguese government and European Commission . In 2022, he authored Free Market: The History of an Idea (2022), an intellectual history of

741-512: 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

798-608: 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

855-530: Is child psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner . Through his maternal grandmother, Liese Bronfenbrenner, née Price, Soll is the great-great-grandson of the German Orientalist, Eugen Prym (1843–1913), and great-grandson of the English author and professor, Hereward Thimbleby Price (1880–1964). Early hometowns included Cambridge, Massachusetts , Iowa City , and Paris, France . He earned a B.A. from

912-713: 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

969-452: 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

1026-674: 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

1083-471: 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

1140-544: The University of Iowa in 1991, a D.E.A. in 1993 from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales , and a Ph.D. in 1998 from Magdalene College, Cambridge . Soll's first position was as a lecturer at Princeton University , where he worked for two years, from 1997 to 1999, and then as a professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden from 1999 to 2012. He was the Luso-American Foundation Fellow of Portugal's Biblioteca Nacionale de Lisboa;

1197-549: The "Genius Grant" for his work on the history of the state. At the University of Southern California, he teaches on the philosophy of economic and political thought and Renaissance and Enlightenment history and has organized forums on European politics. Soll was born in Madison, Wisconsin . His parents are David Soll , a molecular geneticist, and Beth Soll , née Bronfenbrenner, a modern dance choreographer. His grandfather

SECTION 20

#1732773141016

1254-485: 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,

1311-421: 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

1368-526: 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

1425-665: The Enlightenment. In 2014, he authored The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations (2014). A history of the role of accounting in political and financial accountability from the Ancient world to the modern age was a worldwide best-seller, particularly in Asia, where it received numerous positive reviews. The Financial Times wrote that: Soll's wry and lucid book ... accountability and accountancy become

1482-636: 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,

1539-595: 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

1596-539: The Renaissance, won the 2005 Jacques Barzun Prize in Cultural History. Soll was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009 to write his second book, The Information Master: Jean Baptiste Colbert's State Information System, a history of Louis XIV's famous finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert's use of information in state-building. In 2011, he was awarded a $ 500,000 MacArthur Fellowship , known as

1653-538: 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

1710-458: 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

1767-773: 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

Scotland Institute - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-575: 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,

1881-645: 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

1938-417: The costs would be excessive, and that the new force would not provide added security. On 2 March 2014 The Scotland Institute published a report calling for school starting age in Scotland to be lowered to the age of four. The report, titled ‘Early Start 4 Scotland’, called for lowering the school starting age in Scotland in an effort to help children in low-income families and to better equip them to compete on

1995-584: 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,

2052-625: 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

2109-437: 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,

2166-784: 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

2223-660: The global stage. On 26 January 2016 the institute published a report on the rising number of benefit claimants in Scotland, despite an economic recovery. The report concluded that societal caps and attacks on the workplace had contributed to this rise, rather than any evidence of a “work-shy” population. 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

2280-438: 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. Jacob Soll Jacob Soll (born 1968) is an American university professor and professor of philosophy, history and accounting at the University of Southern California . Soll's work examines the mechanics of politics, statecraft and economics by dissecting

2337-532: 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

Scotland Institute - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-706: 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

2451-577: 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

2508-447: The role of commentaries, editions, and translations of Niccolò Machiavelli produced by the previously little-studied figure Amelot de La Houssaye (1634–1706), who became the most influential writer on secular politics during the reign of Louis XIV . Grounded in analysis of archival, manuscript, and early printed sources, Soll shows how Abraham Nicolas Amelot de la Houssaye and his publishers arranged prefaces, columns, and footnotes in

2565-536: 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

2622-511: 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

2679-483: 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

2736-638: 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

2793-457: The various elements of how modern states and political systems succeed and fail. He studies the philosophies of political and economic freedom with a focus on the relationship of the individual to the state. His first book, Publishing The Prince : Reading, History, and the Birth of Political Criticism (2005), a study of the influence of Machiavelli 's theory of prudence from the Enlightenment to

2850-547: 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

2907-547: 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

SECTION 50

#1732773141016

2964-542: 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 ,

3021-400: Was both a means of control and a medium for his own political advancement: his systematic and encyclopedic information collection served to strengthen and uphold Louis XIV's absolute rule. With these and other projects in progress including an intellectual and practical history of accounting and its role in governance in the modern world and a study of the composition of library catalogues during

3078-626: 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

3135-578: 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

3192-412: 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

3249-631: 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

#15984