Preview

RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations"

Advanced search

The Development of think tanks in the U.S. in the first half of the twentieth century: the political and socioeconomic context

https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2020-4-99-109

Abstract

Research institutions and specifically think tanks have existed and developed in the United States for more than 100 years. Since their inception, they have changed and evolved in many ways, while expanding their research foci and political impact. Since the 2010s, a few experts in the field have observed that the U.S. policy expertise is now in crisis. To understand current challenges of policy analysis institutions it is important to study them in a historical retrospective. This article explores the political and socioeconomic contexts in which think tanks emerged and developed from 1910 to the 1950-s. It particularly examines the role of international crises, as well as domestic political factors, such as the role of philanthropy organizations, institutional changes in the government, and others. It discusses how these domestic and foreign policy aspects affected the early development of the Carnegie Endowment for the International Peace (1910), the Council on Foreign Relations (1921) and the RAND Corporation (1948).

About the Author

I. V. Shchetinskaia
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation

lana V. Shchetinskaia

Bld. 6, Miusskaya Sq., Moscow, 125993



References

1. Abelson, D. (2002), A Capitol Idea: Think Tanks and U.S. Foreign Policy, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, Canada.

2. Drezner, D. (2017), The Ideas Industry, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

3. Higgott, R., Stone, D. (1994), “The Limits of Influence: Foreign Policy Think Tanks in Britain and the USA”, Review of International Studies, vol. 20, no. 1, Jan., pp. 15-34.

4. Istomin, I. (2016), “Expert Analysis Outsourced: ‘Think Tanks’ as a Format of Support for Government Decision-Making Process”, Think Tank Atlas: Russian Studies Abroad, pp. 19-24.

5. LeClair, M. (2014), Philanthropy in Transition, Springer, Berlin, Germany.

6. McGann, J, (2016), The Fifth Estate: Think Tanks, Public Policy, and Governance, Brookings Institution Press, Washington, D.C.


Review

For citations:


Shchetinskaia I.V. The Development of think tanks in the U.S. in the first half of the twentieth century: the political and socioeconomic context. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations". 2020;(4):99-109. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2020-4-99-109

Views: 251


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.


ISSN 2073-6339 (Print)