Think Tanks in the United States

While it may not be widely recognized, think tanks in the United States fill important public roles and exercise significant influence in the policymaking process. They identify issues and recommend policies. Think tanks provide the government with expertise and personnel and they educate the public. Their success in America is due in part to the particular nature of the US government and American political culture.

This report will examine the basic activities of US think tanks with a focus on the connections between these institutions and the American policymaking process. The following discussion will be conducted with an international audience in mind. This means that where think tank activities are directly related to characteristics of American institutions or culture, some effort will be made to offer a brief explanation of these features.

As such, this is an examination of American think tanks in particular, and more specifically, those whose primary purpose is to directly and publicly influence public policy in the United States. It is not a comprehensive discussion of global think tanks, or an exhaustive study of all the diverse American institutions that have adopted the label.