The Varied Composition of a Think Tank Hub: An Analysis of Western European Think Tanks
Think Tank and Civil Societies Program Summer 2020 Western Europe Data Collection Team Andrew Orner, Project Lead Kamryn Jackson Italia Messina Anna Newnam Gabriella Rabito Bianca Serbin Pedro Siemsen Giestas Annarosa Zampaglione Valeria Zeballos Doubinko
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Table of Contents
Description of TTCSP and the Internship Program 2 Acknowledgments 2 Introduction 3 Literature Review 5 Methodology 13 Regional Analysis 18 Selected Country Analyses 26 Belgium 26 France 31 Germany 35 Spain 44 Sweden 48 United Kingdom 52 Conclusion and Areas for Future Study 56 Appendices 59 Appendix I: Selected Tables 59 Appendix II: Methodology 63 Appendix III: The Research Team 66 Bibliography 68
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Description of TTCSP and the Internship Program
The Think Tank and Civil Society Program (TTCSP) directed by Dr. James McGann was created to “help bridge the gap between policy and knowledge.” The program aims to conduct research on the role policy institutes play in governments and civil societies around the world as well as engage and mobilize think tanks to create lasting institutional and state-level partnerships. Essentially, TTCSP is the “think tank of think tanks.” In order to advance its objectives, TTCSP maintains a cohort of interns year-round to help with planning annual summits, collecting data, conducting research, and publishing reports including TTCSP’s annual Global Go To Think Tank Index. This summer, TTCSP interns undertook the biannual updating process for the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database. This report is the work of the Western Europe Data Collection Team from this process. The team was composed of nine interns: Andrew Orner (Project Lead), Kamryn Jackson, Italia Messina, Anna Newnam, Gabriella Rabito, Bianca Serbin, Pedro Siemsen Giestas, Annarosa Zampaglione, and Valeria Zeballos Doubinko.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our appreciation to Dr. James McGann, Director of TTCSP for the opportunity to work for TTCSP this summer. His wisdom and guidance were essential to our successful completion of this report. We are also grateful for the entire Summer 2020 TTCSP intern cohort for a summer of enjoyable teamwork and virtual communication during an unprecedented time. We are especially grateful to the support of the intern executive team. Throughout the summer, guest speakers addressed the intern cohort virtually. Their generosity with their time and the advice that they shared was greatly appreciated. Finally, we would like to give a special thanks to our families for their support and understanding throughout the internship.
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Introduction
This report assesses the state of the Western European think tank landscape as of summer 2020, according to the results of the biannual TTCSP Global Think Tank Database updating process. The Global Think Tank Database, the world’s first global, multi-sectoral think tank database, contains entries for over 8,000 think tanks from around the world. It enables TTCSP to have unmatched insights into the think tank activity around the world and it provides the bedrock for the annual TTCSP Global Go To Think Tank Index (GGTTI). The report provides a review of recent literature on Western European think tanks, describes the methodology utilized to gather updated think tank information, and analyzes the results of that data collection as a sample of the total universe of Western European think tanks. Individual sections are devoted to seven countries with the largest numbers of top think tanks according to the TTCSP 2019 GGTTI Report: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. These sections provide a review of country-specific think tank literature and analyze the sample data collected. For the purposes of this report, Western Europe was defined as the countries of Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Vatican City. With the exception of San Marino, according to the TTCSP 2019 GGTTI Report, each of these countries has at least one active think tank. The report, which reflects information gathered during the most recent GTTD update in 2018, accounts for 1,523 active think tanks in Western Europe.1 The estimated number of think tanks in each country ranges significantly from zero in San Marino to over 300 in the United Kingdom. The team’s work to update the information of Western European think tanks listed in the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database is essential to various TTCSP key objectives. The updated contact information collected enables TTCSP to continue to promote global dialogue among scholars, think tank executives, and members of civil societies. The other collected data and the analysis provided in this report will inform TTCSP’s future research agenda and offer a timely snapshot of the current state of think tanks in Western Europe.
1 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” TTCSP Global Go To Think Tank Index Reports, https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=think_tanks.
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Western Europe is the home of a large proportion of the world’s think tanks and many of the most highly regarded and influential institutions. Due to its high profile, there has been significant academic work devoted to understanding Western European think tanks and the political cultures that surround them. However, given that the think tank landscape continues to evolve, the accuracy of data decreases with time. Especially as COVID-19 disrupts the normal operations of institutions around the world, the Global Think Tank Database requires consistent and thorough updates. Timely information about think tanks is essential for the work of academic researchers, policy makers and scholars at other think tanks. Therefore, this team’s data collection efforts and analysis have valuable applications for internal use at TTCSP and across a spectrum of other important pursuits.
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Literature Review
Think Tanks as Institutions Despite the proliferation of think tanks around the world over a period of over one hundred years, there remains no widely accepted definition. Instead, scholars have applied the term “think tank” to institutions that vary across multiple dimensions. While there remains disagreement about many specific elements of what constitutes a think tank, it is generally accepted that these institutions are policy-oriented.2 An area of contention is the extent to which a think tank must be independent of governments, universities or other institutions. Some scholars define think tanks narrowly, excluding for-profit and dependent institutions.3 In Contrast, Dr. James McGann defines think tanks broadly as “public-policy research analysis and engagement organizations that generate policy-oriented research, analysis, and advice on domestic and international issues, thereby enabling policy makers and the public to make informed decisions about public policy.”4 The term “think tank” is further complicated by its application to institutions in countries where the term cannot be easily translated or is not widely known. As a result, there can be confusion and scholarly disagreement about what organizations are actually think tanks.5 These debates still continue and further scholarship might yet produce a consensus definition. For the purposes of this report, however, the definition advanced by Dr. McGann serves as an effective working definition that captures the wide-range of potentially influential policy actors that could be considered think tanks. The breadth of this definition is especially helpful in a region like Western Europe. As a major hub of think tank activity the region has produced different typologies of think tanks, often due to influences by sub-regional or national culture.
Development of Western European Think Tanks Western Europe has long been a major political, economic and cultural force in the modern world. Countries in this region consistently rank highly on major indices measuring
2 Melissa Conley Tyler, Rhea Matthews, and Emma Brockhurst, “Think Tank Diplomacy,” Think Tank Diplomacy, January 2017, pp. 1-96, https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004331211_002. 3 Allan Gyngel, “Think Tanks and Foreign Policy.” Sydney: Lowy Institute for International Policy, May 2008. 4 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020. 5 Juliana Cristina Rosa Hauck, “What are ‘Think Tanks’? Revisiting the Dilemma of the Definition,” Brazilian Political Science Review 11, no. 2 (2017): 3, http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1981-3821201700020006.
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economic strength, political freedoms and human development.6 It is unsurprising that the region’s countries have developed strong civil societies. Western Europe’s world-leading status in other domains is mirrored in the area of think tank development. Though think tanks are sometimes thought of as an uniquely American phenomenon, and indeed, several of the most well-known institutions are in the United States, Western Europe has a rich history of think tank activity, and many of its oldest think tanks date as far back as American think tanks. Like American institutions, European think tanks took years to fully define their role in the policymaking sphere.7 The process of European think tank growth and expansion occurred in a series of waves starting in the nineteenth century. The first wave of European think tank expansion occurred in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth.8 The first European think tanks appearing mostly in the United Kingdom and Germany, were internationally focused with an emphasis on security issues and foreign policy. The Royal United Services Institute and the Fabian Society, established in 1831 and 1884 respectively, are examples of these early institutions, both are still active, making them some of the oldest think tanks in the world.9 Following the Second World War, the second wave of development began. Typified by elitist institutions that stressed their objectivity. During the second wave, think tanks began to proliferate in more countries in the region and take on both domestic and international issues.10 Organizations such as the French Institute of International Relations and the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW) in Germany were founded at this time. The third wave of European think tank expansion occurred in between 1980 and 2000. At this time, several organizations grew in size and scope. Think tanks in European nations such as Italy, Germany, France and Belgium began to flourish. Unlike their predecessors, many think tanks established in this period openly espoused partisan affiliations and aggressively
6 “GDP (Current US$),” Data, 2019, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD; Sarah Repucci, “A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy,” Freedom House, 2020, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom- world/2020/leaderless-struggle-democracy; Max Roser, “Human Development Index (HDI),” Our World in Data, July 25, 2014, https://ourworldindata.org/human-development-index. 7 Donald E. Abelson"Old World, New World: The Evolution and Influence of Foreign Affairs Think-tanks." International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-) 90, no. 1 (2014): 125-42. Accessed August 2, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/24538256. 8 Diane Stone and Heidi Ulrich, “Policy research institutes and think tanks in Western Europe: Development trends and perspectives,” Policy Documentation Center, Central European University (January 2003). 9 “About RUSI,” RUSI, accessed July 21, 2020, https://rusi.org/about-rusi. 10 Stone and Ulrich, “Policy research institutes and think tanks in Western Europe: Development trends and perspectives,” 2003.
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competed with each other for influence and access.11 During this period, major developments in the regional governance structures also occurred, including the establishment of the European Union in 1993. This gave rise to what has been called the “golden age of European integration.”12 Think tanks devoted to regional affairs grew in number and prominence in response to the expanded realm of policy making created by the EU. The final major period of think tank growth that occurred in the 2000s. The region saw a continuation of the rapid growth of EU focused think tanks and transnational think tank networks.13 During this period think tanks in Wesetern Europe have become even more significant players in “formal EU policy-making processes and informal advocacy” that dominate European politics.14 Despite their growing success, think tanks faced criticism about their operations. Some accused institutions of acting as lobbyists and fronts for undisclosed private interests.15 The transparency of think tank funding and biases in their analyses remains a contentious issue to this day. While the above described waves of growth offer a regional picture of think tank development, the specific contours of change vary considerably across the different countries in the region. Country-specific literature is reviewed in the selected country analyses later in this report. In general, scholars are swift to note that the political, economic, and cultural attributes of a nation have had a profound influence on the size and strength of national think tank communities.16 The complexities of think tank development in the region is mirrored by the large and complicated landscape of think tanks in the present day.
Table 1: Western European Countries by Number of Think Tanks (2019)17
11 Ibid. 12 Antonio Missiroli and Isabelle Ioannides, eds. Rep. European Think Tanks and the EU. Bureau of European Policy Advisors, 2012. 13 “The Changing Face of European Think-Tanks.” www.euractiv.com. EURACTIV.com, February 26, 2009. https://www.euractiv.com/section/public-affairs/linksdossier/the-changing-face-of-european-think-tanks/. 14 Tatyana Bajenova, “Rescaling Expertise in EU Policy-Making: European Think Tanks and Their Reliance on Symbolic, Political and Network Capital,” Globalization, Societies and Education (Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon, 2018), 61-77. 15 “The Changing Face of European Think-Tanks,” February 26 2009. 16 Stephen Boucher and Martine Royo. Les Think Tanks: Cerveaux De La Guerre Des idées. Paris: Le Félin-Kiron, 2012;
17 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
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Position in Ranking Country Name Number of Think Tanks
1 United Kingdom 321
2 Germany 218
3 France 203
4 Italy 114
5 Sweden 90
6 Netherlands 83
7 Switzerland 78
8 Austria 74
9 Spain 66
10 Belgium 60
11 Denmark 51
12 Greece 46
13 Finland 29
14 Portugal 25
15 Norway 22
16 Ireland 16
17 Iceland 8
18 Luxembourg 8
19 Malta 4
20 Andorra 2
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21 Monaco 2
22 Liechtenstein 2
23 Vatican city 1
24 San Marino 0
Figure 1: Growth in Number of European Think Tanks (2008-2018)18
18 James McGann, “2008 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2009 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2010 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2011 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2012 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2013 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2016 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”
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Figure 2: Number of European Think Tanks by Country (2008-2018)19
Current Trends
19 James McGann, “2008 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2009 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2010 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2011 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2012 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2013 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2015 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2016 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2017 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2018 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”; “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report.”
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According to the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index, there are an estimated 8,248 think tanks worldwide. and 1,523 think tanks in Western Europe, making it the region with the third most think tanks in the world behind North America and Asia.20 According to the report, Western Europe has nearly twice as many think tanks as Central and Eastern Europe and 31% of the think tanks of the top think tanks worldwide for 2019. In the last decade, the number of
Western European think tanks has continued to grow, though at a slower pace (Figure 1).21 It appears that most Western European countries sustained a relatively stable number of think tanks (Figure 2). In the last ten years, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France maintained a lead in the number of think tanks in the region. Some countries, such as Monaco, established their first think tanks in the past decade, showing once again that think tanks are still expanding across the region. Furthermore, nine of the 25 top countries with the largest number of think tanks are in Western Europe: the United Kingdom (321), Germany (218), France (203), Italy (114), Sweden
(90), the Netherlands (83), Switzerland (78), Austria (74), and Spain (66).22 These nine countries occupied the same position as leaders in the number of think tanks in 2018.23 There is think tank activity throughout Western Europe, even in smaller countries such as Iceland. Despite the spread of think tank activity, some European nations still have a relatively low number of think tanks. San Marino, for instance, is yet to have a think tank. Because of this, Western Europe remains an important region to analyze for the study of think tanks. In an increasingly globalized world, think tanks may begin to play a larger role in international or transnational policy.24 The growth of think tanks may also contribute to the development of policy networks, which would allow collaboration across regions and countries.25 For example, several Western European countries (the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany), as well as the EU as a whole, are members of the G20, where they interact in a global and collaborative discussion.26 Think tanks have also had an important role in EU policy discussions, working to influence broader decision-making.27
20Ibid. 21 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid. 24 Diane Stone, “The Group of 20 Transnational Policy Community: Governance Networks, Policy Analysis and Think Tanks,” International Review of Administrative Sciences 81, no. 4 (2015). 25 Ibid, 798. 26 Ibid, 799. 27 Bajenova, “Rescaling Expertise in EU Policy-Making.”
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The 2019 European Think Tank Summit hosted by TTCSP, Fundacion Alternativas, and Elcano Royal Institute addressed the question of “What is the Role of Think Tanks in the Future of Europe?” This meeting of think tanks prompted discussion on the topics of funding, think tank diversity, novel technology and communication methods, and audience engagement. The 2019 European Summit demonstrated how think tanks have come together to strategize about issues such as information wars or transparency.28 It is likely that European think tanks will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This is evident through the adaptive measures that many think tanks or think tank executives have already taken to cope with the pandemic. For example, many European leaders have begun to utilize technology in place of in-person interaction, attending such events as the Global Think
Tank Town Halls to Save Lives and Livelihoods, hosted by TTCSP.29 Think tank scholars view the current pandemic as being a test of European unity, especially in the face of a great economic crisis. This will necessitate policy responses, and necessarily implicate think tanks.30 The 2017 European Think Tank Summit similarly reflected the need for think tank advice in the face of economic distress, though it framed this issue in the context of the European migration crisis.
This summit was also a locus for a discussion on the globalization of political issues.31 Notably, the 2017 European Summit also raised questions about the positive and negative effects of live streaming events, a practice which has become integral to the discussion process in the era of COVID-19. Western Europe’s long history of think tank activity and the strong stable support provided to these institutions across the region makes rapid significant changes in the importance of think tanks to Western European countries’ political cultures unlikely. However, as the current trends in the region and around the world have demonstrated, the think tank community will likely be shaped by the most recent and serious crisis of the day. While it seems clear that COVID-19 will be that crisis, it is still too early to see the totality of its effects.
28 James McGann, “2019 European Think Tank Summit,” TTCSP Global and Regional Think Tank Summit Reports, 2019, https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=ttcsp_summitreports. 29 “Global Think Tank Town Hall I,” Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, 2020, https://www.gotothinktank.com/townhall. 30 Agnès Bénassy-Quéré and Beatrice Weder di Mauro, eds., “Europe in the Time of Covid-19,” Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2020, https://fondazionecerm.it/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/CEPR- Europe_in_the_Time_of_Covid-19.pdf#page=120. 31 James McGann, “2017 Think Tank Summit Report: The Future of Europe: Cooperation, Conflict, or Chaos? The Role of Think Tanks in Shaping Europe 's Future,” TTCSP Global and Regional Think Tank Summit Reports, 2017, https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=ttcsp_summitreports
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Methodology
The Western European data collection team was one of seven regional teams working to improve the accuracy of the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database (GTTD). These efforts were primarily focused on reviewing the previous database section for Western Europe and identifying think tanks new to the GTTD. All active institutions identified were asked to complete an updated think tank profile for inclusion in the database. There were two initial lists of Western European think tanks that the team used as a starting point for collecting updated information from think tanks. The first was the list of Top Western European Think Tanks in the 2019 Go To
Think Tank Index Report.32 This list of 141 institutions included two duplicates and one institution that was not in the region, meaning that the list contained 138 think tanks for the team to contact. The other initial list of think tanks contained the Western Europe section of the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database as of the most recent database update in 2018. This list contained 1,523 institutions whose profiles were submitted by think tanks over the course of multiple years. While both of these lists contained many active think tanks, the time that had passed since their compilation opened the possibility for the presence of institutions that were no longer active, especially for the database which contains entries that were submitted multiple years ago. In addition, the 2019 GGTTI rankings are created through a survey process that sometimes does not detect the closure of a think tank. Throughout the project, the team collected a list of 334 think tanks that it classified as likely closed. Each of these institutions met one or more of the following criteria: (1) it did not have a functioning website; (2) emails to the institution bounced; (3) it did not respond to calls; (4) it had been absorbed by other think tanks; (5) it could not be traced or found anywhere on the internet; or (6) either its website or other news sources indicated that the think tank had been closed. These determinations were made carefully after exhaustive investigations of each institution. However, given TTCSP’s commitment to ensuring that an institution is not removed incorrectly from its database, further due diligence to definitively classify that these think tanks are closed may be required. The data collection and outreach efforts to prompt think tanks to update their profile in the Database were divided into three distinct phases designed to target top institutions, as well as
32 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
14 garner responses from as many think tanks in the region as possible. All phases took place between May 2020 and July 2020. In Phase I, the team collected contact information for key staff members (President; Vice President; Directors of Research, Development, Communication, and Media) from the think tanks listed in the Top Western European Think Tanks ranking of the 2019 GGTTI Report. When necessary, the team reached out directly to institutions to collect this information. Outreach methods included multiple rounds of emails, phone calls, and social media messages on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. When possible, communications with think tanks were conducted in the institution’s native tongue and during normal business hours for the think tank’s time zone. The team had language skills in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. A complete slate of the relevant staff members for 121 out of 138 think tanks was collected. In Phase II, the team solicited updated database profiles from the 138 think tanks from the 2019 GGTTI Report. Using the contact information collected in Phase I, the team sent out multiple rounds of emails, reached out over the phone, via social media and enlisted the help of other other regional institutions. 94 of the 138 (68%) institutions completed an updated profile. Of the 44 missing institutions, six are included in the team’s list of think tanks classified as likely closed. The information gathered in each updated database profile included the organization’s name, the country hosting the organization, the President’s Name, the President’s Email, a point of contact (for TTCSP use only), the institution’s annual budget, the date on which the institution was established, the think tank’s mission statement, the number of research staff, the number of administrative staff, a list of key research programs, the name of the individual submitting the update, the institution’s zip code, the institution’s web address and the email addresses for key Senior Executives including those for the Vice-President, Deputy Director, Director of Research,
Director of Development, Director of External Relations, and Communications Director.33 Each updated profile was included in the representative sample of think tanks analyzed in this report. In Phase III, the team solicited updated database profiles from 1,523 think tanks in Western Europe listed in the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database. In this phase, similar methods
33 “Think Tank Directory,” Go To Think Tank, accessed 21 July 2020, https://www.gotothinktank.com/update- think-tank-info.
15 of outreach to the previous phases including multiple rounds of emails, communications in institutions’ native languages, phone calls and messages using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Additionally, during this phase, the team utilized a mail merge program to help send out emails and track their status. The system tracked the status of emails sorting them into four categories: email clicked, email opened, email sent and bounced. This tool allowed the team to assess whether the contact information on file was outdated and whether a think tank had opened an email. For the majority of the think tanks contacted, there were few emails that bounced. However, the team received very few responses from think tanks, even when an email was clicked or opened. The temporary closure of Western European think tanks due to the COVID- 19 global pandemic is likely a contributing factor to the low response rate. Interns received many automated replies informing them that the requested contact is on summer vacation, which further affected the team’s response rate. It is also possible that many institutions perceived the team’s requests as a low priority task and thus were less likely to respond. In addition to contacting the institutions in the TTCSP database, as part of Phase III, the team attempted to identify new think tanks and think tanks that have not previously been listed in the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database. A total of 327 new or previously unlisted think tanks were identified. Of these 327 institutions, 262 of them were found by searching the publicly available Open Think Tanks Directory published by On Think Tanks, a British academic research program studying think tanks.34 345 think tanks were found to be listed in both the TTCSP Database and On Think Tanks database. In an effort to create a representative sample of updated profiles from Western European think tanks the team engaged in targeted outreach efforts on multiple occasions to improve the quality of the collected sample. Particular attention was paid to the top think tanks from the 2019 GGTTI report and those countries that had zero updated profiles. No updated profiles were received from Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City. However, each of these countries has an estimated think tank population of eight or less with most populations below four. Thus, their think tanks, though worthy of study in their own right, do not significantly affect the comparatively large Western European think tank landscape. In total, during Phase III the team secured updated database profiles from 148 institutions.
34 “Open Think Tank Directory,” On Think Tanks (On Think Tanks), accessed July 21, 2020, https://onthinktanks.org/open-think-tank-directory/.
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The method of outreach utilized by the team has multiple potential biases. For example, various extraneous factors such as illegitimate, or overly simplistic websites, incorrect contact information listed on said websites, and websites not created in the correct target language listed, may have prevented an intuition from being appropriately contacted. Other factors that potentially contributed to a think tank not creating a profile and thereby contributing to a sample’s non-response bias include disruptions in some countries due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the coincidence of outreach efforts with extended annual vacations taken in many Western European countries. Furthermore, the team started with initial data that included (1) contact information with profiles previously submitted to the TTCSP Database by institutions and (2) lists of the ranking think tanks listed in the 2019 GGTTI Report. Both of these sources potentially created a bias favoring older, more renowned institutions over newer, less recognized think tanks and a bias toward institutions which had had previous interactions with TTCSP. An additional potential bias stems from the fact larger institutions are likely to have multiple points of contact, which can increase the likelihood that an individual representing the think tank responds to TTCSP’s emails and/or successfully updates the institution’s profile. At the same time, interns did not have information regarding recently established think tanks, thus making their inclusion in the team’s list of regional think tanks less likely. In combination, these factors likely influenced both the team’s estimate of the total think tank landscape and the character of the think tanks included in the sample. While the above-mentioned potential biases undoubtedly affected the data collected, the comprehensive approach of the team to identify and reach out to all active think tanks in Western Europe has produced a significant and unparalleled data set of regional think tanks. Based upon this data, the team estimates that there are 1516 active think tanks in Western Europe (For a complete summary of the estimate see Table # in Appendix I). This is a decrease of 7 institutions (or 0.46%) from the 2019 GGTTI estimate of 1,523. Given that the percentage change is so small and the potential for error in this type of data collection effort are comparatively high, this decrease is not a significant indicator of any regional change in the number of think tanks. Of these 1516 think tanks, a sample of 242 (or 16%) of Western European think tanks from 17 countries was successfully created out of the institutions that completed the updated database
17 profiles. This sample reflects the diverse think tank landscape of the region and captures the wide variations between think tanks both within and among countries.
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Figure 3: Percentage of Think Tanks Included in Western Europe Sample by Country
Regional Analysis
Of the estimated 1,516 in Western Europe, the team was able to secure 242 updated database profiles. These institutions offer a view into the typology and characteristics of Western European think tanks. Based upon the updated database profiles submitted by the think tanks in the region, a regional average annual budget of $7,743,937 USD was calculated using a sample size of 218 institutions (Table 2). The distribution of budgets in the sample had a large standard deviation of $26,494,507 USD. Both of these statistics were heavily influenced by upper outliers. The budgets of three think tanks with budgets over $100 million USD had an especially large influence. In addition to these significant upper outliers, there were 25 think tanks that had budgets below $100,000 USD. The stratification of these budget statistics underscores the diversity of the size and capacities of think tanks in Western Europe. While financial resources are not the only determinant of success in influencing policy, large disparities in funding like the
19 ones observed in this sample help to explain why larger, more well-funded think tanks can overshadow less well-supported institutions. The average size of think tanks’ research and administrative staff tells a similar story (Table 2). The sample sizes for research staff and administrative staff metrics were 238 and 240, respectively. Once again, both upper and lower outliers exerted a strong influence on these averages. The average research staff for Western European think tanks in the sample was 46 individuals. The largest research staffs in the sample are mostly in the hundreds with some even exceeding 1000 researchers. There were 23 institutions with research staffs greater than 100 individuals. At the other end of the spectrum, there were 43 institutions with research staffs of less than five individuals. Almost without exception, a think tank’s research staff was significantly larger than its administrative staff. The average size of a think tank’s administrative staff was 15 individuals, approximately three times smaller than the average size of research staffs. The distribution of administrative staff sizes was also wide, but with a much greater concentration of very small staff sizes. 115 think tanks had an administrative staff of less than five individuals, over 50% of the entire sample and only 4 had administrative staff of one hundred or greater. The greater size of think tanks research staff compared to their administrative staff is not surprising given the research-oriented character of think tanks as institutions. Furthermore, the wide range of staff sizes, like the wide range of budgets, is reflective of the wide and diverse Western European think tank landscape. Using the descriptions of each think tank’s mission and the lists of their key research programs as submitted in their updated profiles, as well as information gathered from think tank’s websites, each institution in the 242 think tank sample was classified into one of 15 primary policy areas (Table 3; Figure 4). Given the additional interpretive steps involved in collecting this data, these findings are not as robustly supported as the findings from more quantitative metrics. However, their inclusion provides important information about the Western European think tank landscape that would make their absence would be conspicuous. Of the think tanks included in the sample, there were more than 20 institutions in each of the following policy areas: Defense & National Security, Domestic Economics, Foreign Policy & International Affairs, Social Policy, and Transparency & Good Governance. As a group, the think tanks within these primary policy areas accounted for 68% of the entire sample. The identified emphasis placed on these five policy areas is not particularly novel, given their ubiquitous relevance to
20 nearly every country on earth. Notably absent or sparsely present, however, from the sample were think tanks devoted solely to the areas of Domestic Health, Global Health, Food and Water. Though it is certainly possible that some think tanks with a different primary policy area might also have research programs in these areas, the lack of institutions devoted wholly to these areas suggest that these areas do not generate enough attention to support standalone institutions. Further research into think tank activity in these areas is needed to better understand whether their absence in the sample is representative of a genuine gap in the landscape or a reflection of these issues as principally secondary areas of policy focus. The classification of the 242 think tanks in the sample into six affiliation categories was completed in a similar fashion to the identification of policy areas. Each think tank’s classification was made based upon a review of the think tank’s mission statement and key research programs, as submitted in their updated database profile, and a review of think tanks websites, including institutional statutes, annual reports and other relevant documentation. Determinations were made uniformly using the affiliation definitions established by Dr. McGann in previous research (Table 4). However, like the policy areas, the additional interpretive steps involved in collecting this data make it less definitive than the quantitative metrics collected. In the sample, a plurality of think tanks were classified as “Autonomous and Independent,” with notable minorities of think tanks in the “Governmental,” “Quasi Governmental,” and “University affiliated” categories (Table 4 and Figure 5). While it is possible that the distribution of affiliations in the sample is the result of some of the biases discussed in the methodology section, the sample indicates that the dominant affiliation in Western Europe is “Autonomous and Independent.” This emphasis might also be due to the relatively strong representation of the regions top think tanks in the sample. It is plausible that more influential top think tanks are able to more easily sustain status as independent institutions compared to less well-known institutions with less diverse sources of support and funding.
As the home of many of the world’s longest running democracies and some of the most affluent, and stable countries, Western Europe has an older, more developed civil society in comparison to much of the rest of the world. At the same time, Western Europe remains a deeply politically active region. The ages of Western Europe's think tanks reflect both of these realities. Of the think tanks in the sample, 42 are older than 50 years. At the same time, 39 of the think
21 tanks in the sample have been founded within the last ten years. In addition, there was one notable institution that was founded in the first half of the nineteenth century that substantially affects the sample average. The average age of the think tanks in the sample was just over 29 years reflecting the presence of both long enduring institutions and newly established ones. In addition to analyzing the sample of think tanks collected, the team also collated and analyzed the year of establishment of a larger sample of 1,366 Western European think tanks. These datapoints were derived from the TTCSP database entries of still active think tanks and included the year of establishment of think tanks new to the TTCSP database when that information could be collected from institutional websites. The average year of establishment for this sample was 1986, corresponding to an institutional age of 34. Further review of the sample provided strong evidence for the historical spike in think tank activity associated with the creation of the EU in 1993. Our sample identified 597 (39% of the estimated population) institutions that were founded in the decades preceding and following the creation of the EU. The large year of establishment sample also provided strong evidence for a slowing growth rate of Western European think tanks. The sample contained only 94 institutions founded between 2010 and 2020. In comparison, 291think tanks were founded between 2000 and 2010. In aggregate, the data collected paints a complex picture of Western European think tanks that highlights variation across nearly every metric. Given this diversity, statistics for the “average” institution on these measures masks a wide range of operating models, policy foci, and capacities. While both might be considered Western European think tanks, there are vast relevant differences between small, sometimes single researcher, think tanks with narrow foci and little funding compared to large institutions with hundreds of researchers, multiple programs and multimillion dollar budgets. The strongest and most significant finding was the empirical confirmation of the large and sustained period of think tank growth surrounding the creation of the EU and the slowing of think tank growth over the past decade.
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Table 2: 2020 Western European Think Tank Sample Statistics Summary
Average Budget Average Staff Size Average Age of Think Tank (Sample of 218) (Research & (Sample of 242) Administration) (Samples of 238 &240)
$7,958,533 USD 46 people & 15 people 29 years
Figure 4: Histogram of Western European Think Tank (Sample of 242) By Year of Established
Figure 5: Histogram of Western European Think Tanks (Sample of 1366) By Year Established
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Table 3: Western European Think Tanks (Sample of 242) Categorized by Policy Area Number of Policy Area Think Tanks
Defense & National Security 20
Domestic Economics 34
Domestic Health 4
Education 7
Energy & Resources 19
Environment 39
Food 0
Foreign Policy & International Affairs 1
Global Health 20
International Development 18
International Economics 8
Science & Technology 37
Social Policy 34
Transparency & Good Governance 1
Water 0
24
Figure 6: Percentage of Western European Think Tanks (Sample of 242) by Policy Area
Table 4: Western European Think Tanks (Sample of 242) by Affiliation
Number of Affiliation Definitions35 Think Tanks "A public policy research organization that has significant independence from any Autonomous and independent one interest group or 147 donor and autonomous in its operation and funding from government." "A public policy research organization For profit 6 that operates as a for profit business"
35 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020, 14.
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"A public policy research organization Government affiliated that is part of the 18 structure of government." "A public policy research organization Political-party affiliated that is formally 8 affiliated with a political party." "A public policy research organization that is funded exclusively by Quasi-governmental 18 government grants and contracts but not a part of the formal structure of government." "A public policy research organization that is autonomous from government but controlled by an interest group, donor or Quasi-independent 14 contracting agency that provides a majority of the funding and has significant influence over operations of the think tank" "A public policy University affiliated research center at a 22 university."
26
Figure 7: Percentage of Western European Think Tanks (Sample of 242) by Affiliation
Selected Country Analyses
Belgium
Located at the heart of Western Europe, Belgium is neighbored by Germany, France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Due to its strategic position on the European continent and its neutrality, Belgium is a hub of international governance and policy. It is home to the de facto capital of European Union (EU) and the headquarters for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In 2018, it was ranked second in the world for international non-profit organization meetings, hosting over 700 international association meetings.36 It is thus unsurprising that many internationally recognized think tanks are located in Belgium, especially in Brussels, its capital. The oldest Belgian think tanks, such as the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relation, were established as early as the 1950s. However, a large number of think tanks were founded in the 1980s and 1990s. Think tank creation at this time paralleled greater efforts to
36 Amelia Folkemal, “Brussels continues to be one of the World’s Top Hubs for International Associations,” The Brussels Times, December 10, 2019.
27 create unity in the continent. It is certainly possible that the establishment of the EU in 1993 propelled think tank growth in Belgium, especially as Brussels became increasingly important as a policymaking hub.37 Certainly, several think tanks established at this time focused on EU affairs and carried a pro-integration bias.38 Friends of Europe, for instance, was created in 1999 with the aim of fostering debate in the region.39 Several organizations were also non-partisan and non-profit, as they focused on fostering union and integration. Think tank growth in the 1990s was followed by an even larger period of expansion in the 2000s.40 With the turn of the century, many organizations shifted their attention to economic and global issues. For example, organizations such as The European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) and Bruegel focused exclusively on economics and trade affairs. These organization also adopted a more global outlook, instead of focusing primarily on
European affairs41. The Brussels scene itself became more international, as foreign think tanks, such as the German Marshall Fund, the International Crisis Group, the East-West Institute, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace set up offices in Belgium. Think tank expansion in the 2000s thus reflects rapid globalization, as well as the emergence of think tanks as influential organizations. Think tanks were previously low-profile actors in the policy arena. However as expertise became an increasingly indispensable factor in policymaking, the number of think tanks in Europe, and in Belgium, expanded.42 According to the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, there were 60 Belgian think tanks in 2019.43 Belgian think tanks have been a consistent presence in the highest ranks of many of the categories in TTCSP’s Global Go To Think Tank Index. For instance, in 2019, six out of the 157 Top Think Tanks Worldwide (Non US) were Belgian. Similarly, seven of the 176 Top Think Tanks Worldwide (US and Non-US) were Belgian. Belgian think tanks have also
37 Missiroli, Antonio and Isabelle Ioannides, “European Think Tanks and the EU,” Berlaymont Paper (Bureau of European European Commission, 2012), 10-11. 38 Ibid. 39 “About Us,” Friends of Europe, 2020, https://www.friendsofeurope.org/mission-vision-values/ 40 B. Fraussen, V. Pattyyn, and M. Lawaree, “Thinking in splendid isolation? The organization and policy engagement of think tanks in Belgium,” Policy Analysis in Belgium (University of Bristol: The Policy Press, 2016), 257–274. 41 Missiroli, Antonio and Isabelle Ioannides, “European Think Tanks and the EU,” Berlaymont Paper (Bureau of European European Commission, 2012), 10-11. 42 B. Fraussen, V. Pattyyn, and M. Lawaree, “Thinking in splendid isolation? The organization and policy engagement of think tanks in Belgium,” Policy Analysis in Belgium (University of Bristol: The Policy Press, 2016), 257–274 43 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
28 been ranked highly in economic policy and foreign policy rankings. Bruegel ranked particularly high in multiple domains in the 2019 GGTTI Report. It was ranked first among the Top Think Tanks in Western Europe, Top Think Tanks Worldwide (Non-US), and the Top International Economics Policy Think Tanks. These high rankings show how influential Belgium continues to be in the global landscape. It appears that the country’s unique concentration of diplomats, officials, business representatives and lobbyists has created a rich environment for research and debate. In that regard, Brussels is comparable to Washington. The 60 Belgian think tanks included in the 2019 Go To Think Tank Index Report served an initial estimate of the number of Beligan think tanks. The team attempted to contact each one of these institutions and searched for institutions that were not included in this number. Of the 60 think tanks, the team identified 15 institutions that are likely closed based upon meeting one or more of the criteria described in the methodology section. The team also identified 19 think tanks not previously listed in the TTCSP database. Aggregating these findings, an estimate of 64 active Belgian think tanks is reached, a net increase of four think tanks. Out of the estimated 64 think tanks in Belgium, 18 or 28% submitted an updated profile of their institution’s information. The team was unable to include the information from the other 46 think tanks as they did not submit a database update despite several outreach efforts. It is possible that many think tanks are currently receiving a high volume of emails, or that they are working in a limited capacity due to the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. Nevertheless, using the data from the organizations that updated the database, this team was able to produce critical statistics on the status of Belgian think tanks in 2020, including: average age, average budget in USD, average size of research staff and administrative staff, as well as categorization of think tanks by policy area and affiliation. The average budget for Belgian think tanks, collected from a sample of 16 organizations, was $7,138,340.5 USD (Table 5), which falls along an average Western European budget of $$7,743,936.88 USD. A sample of 18 think tanks shows that staff sizes in Belgium mirrored averages of the region; the average Belgian think tank from the Western Europe sample population had a research staff of approximately 39 people, and an administrative staff of around 10, while the Western European average had a research staff of 46 and an administrative of 15. According to a sample of 18 organizations, Belgian think tanks are 24 years old on average, which is similar to the age of think tanks of France, the country’s neighbor.
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Based upon the definitions of think tank affiliation categories detailed earlier in the report, 64.7% of think tanks that responded were classified as “autonomous and independent” (Figure 8). The presence of a large number of independent think tanks is indicative of well developed civil society that is insulated from government. This reflects Belgium’s neutrality and the importance of conducting unbiased research. The nine unique policy areas were represented in a sample of 18 Belgian think tanks. The largest proportion (22.2%) were devoted to Social Policy. 16.7% of the sample focused on Transparency and Good Governance and another 16.7% on International Economics. The diversity of policy areas observed might be influenced by Belgium’s position as a hub of global and European affairs. The majority of the Belgian sample statistics fall along very similar lines to regional averages, a potentially surprising finding given the huge infrastructure surrounding Brussels as the de facto capital of the EU. All in all, however, Belgium remains a strong space for think tank activity, even if the average size of its institutions in the collected sample do not match previous expectations.
Table 5: 2020 Belgian Think Tank Sample Statistics Summary
Average Budget (Sample of Average Staff Size (Samples Average Age of Think Tank 16) of 18) (Sample of 18)
$ 7,138,341 USD Research Staff: 39 24 years old Administrative Staff: 10
30
Figure 8: Percentage of Belgian Think Tanks (Sample of 18) by Affiliation
Figure 9: Percentage of Belgian Think Tanks (Sample of 18) by Policy Area
31
France
As one of the first modern democracies, France is an important example in the development of civil society.44 However, French civil society is traditionally defined more in the sense of the relationship between the individual and the government.45 The concept of think tanks took root in France during the interwar years, especially with the founding of the CEPE (Center for Foreign Policy Studies) in 1935 by the French government. Though undoubtedly “an innovation” in French political culture, CEPE’s impact is not necessarily comparable to that of Anglo-Saxon think tanks at the time. The influence of French political parties, as well as the “omnipotence” of the state, may have contributed to the delayed development of French think tanks.46 Indeed, state research organizations like the National Institutes for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) and the National Council for Statistical Information (CNIS) significantly influenced the marketplace of ideas in France’s political economy in the 1970s and 1980s. However, around this time, the French government began to establish civil society research organizations from which to gain policy advice.47 In 1979, the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) was founded, and it remains a top think tank in the world to this day. Today, the relationship between the French government and think tanks is not constant. The literature on French think tanks suggests that they provide “complementary” information to the government, though they do serve as a locus for dialogue among civil servants, politicians, and experts.48 The term “epistemic community” is used to refer to the French think tank scene, given this convergence of the ideological and the political.49 In 2015, Ambassador Yves Saint-Geours of France produced a report on French
44 “Creating French Culture: From Empire to Democracy,” Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/bnf/bnf0006.html#:~:text=The%20Independence%20of%20Culture%20(1799,birth%2 0places%20of%20modern%20democracy.&text=But%20twice%20they%20have%20turned,current%20regime%2C %20the%20Fifth%20Republic.. 45 Catherine Fieschi and John Gaffney, “French think tanks in comparative perspective,” in Think Tank Traditions: Policy research and the politics of ideas, ed. Diane Stone and Andrew Denham (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2004): 107. 46 Thierry de Montbrial and Thomas Gomart, “Think tanks à la française,” Le Débat 181, no. 4 (2014), doi:10.3917/deba.181.0061. 47 John L. Campbell, Ove K. Pedersen, “Policy ideas, knowledge regimes and comparative political economy,” Socio-Economic Review 13, no. 4, October 2015, Pages 679–701, https://doi- org.proxy.library.upenn.edu/10.1093/ser/mwv004. 48 Christian Lechery, " Think tanks’ aid to France's diplomatic action," International and Strategic Review 110, no. 2 (2018): pp. 20-32. 49 Fieschi and Gaffney, “French think tanks in comparative perspective,” 106.
32 foreign policy think tanks. He found that though French think tanks produce high quality work products, the French government does not always take the advice of think tanks, and that French diplomats often defer to ideas from Washington or London rather than the research conducted by their French institutions.50 According to the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index, there are 203 think tanks in France. France ranks eighth among the top ten countries with the most think tanks. Two French think tanks, IFRI and European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), rank among the top think tanks worldwide (non-U.S.). Notably, IFRI is listed as the third best on this list, and third best on the list of top think tanks worldwide (U.S. and non-U.S.).51 Of the 203 think tanks previously listed in the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database, it is likely that 54 are closed. All of those 54 think tanks met one or more of the criteria established in the methodology for classifying a think tank as likely closed. The team identified 56 new think tanks in France, all of which were either newly established or had been listed in the On Think Tanks Directory but not in the TTCSP database. Therefore, the team came to a revised estimate of 205 active French think tanks. Of the estimated 205 think tanks in France, 25 or 12% updated their institution’s profile in the TTCSP Global Think Tanks Database. Despite repeated outreach efforts, the remaining 180 think tanks did not respond to requests for updated information, and therefore could not be included in the analysis of French think tanks. These 25 responses served as a portion of the representative sample for Western Europe, as well as the representative sample for France. This sample was used to analyze the metrics of average age, average budget in USD, average size of research staff and administrative staff, as well as categorization of think tanks by policy area and affiliation for France. Analysis of the 25 update surveys indicated that the average age of the sample of French think tanks is 21 years. This suggests that French think tanks were established in the late 1990s and early 2000s, although the raw data showed that this was not necessarily the case. The raw data had a range of 73 years; the oldest think tank in the sample was founded in 1945, and the newest was founded in 2018. The average age of the sample French think tanks is comparable to
50 “Publication of the report on French Think Tanks: fact-finding and recommendation mission,” Ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires Étrangères, last modified October 27, 2016. 51 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
33 that of the UK and Belgium. Nine think tanks in the sample were founded between 2000 and 2010, and an additional seven were founded in the last decade. Of the remaining nine institutions in the sample, six were founded in the 1990s, while the last three were founded in earlier decades. The sample shows that many institutions have been opened in the past 20 years, but that there was think tank development in France prior to the 20th century. Without a larger sample, it is difficult to understand whether the sample represents a trend in French think tank establishment. The average research and administration staff sizes of the sample were 20 and 13, respectively. These numbers were based on responses from all 25 institutions in the sample. The research staff size was well below the mean for Western Europe, which fell at 47, while the administration staff size was below but close to the Western European average of 16. The average budget of French think tanks in the sample was $2,803,475 USD based on only 23 responses (Table 6). This was below the overall average of $8,013,024 USD for Western Europe. However, the budgets of think tanks varied widely, with some operating on just over $11,000 USD and others on over $20,000,000 USD. Though France has one of the highest concentrations of think tanks in the region, it’s average budget was the 12th highest. The sample size for the analysis of affiliation and policy area was 25 think tanks. In terms of affiliation, the majority of think tanks that completed the update were classified as autonomous and independent (71%) (Figure 10). The remaining 29% of the sample included think tanks classified as university affiliated, quasi independent, and government affiliated. As was the case for the entire regional sample, of which 52% was categorized as autonomous and independent, the presence of autonomous think tanks in France may be a sign of independence in terms of operations and funding. The think tanks’ policy areas included Transparency & Good Governance, International Economics, Environment, Foreign Policy & International Affairs, Defense & National Security, International Development, Social Policy, and Education. By and large, the sample of think tanks focused on the policy area of Transparency & Good Governance (31.8%) (Figure 11). The sample data demonstrated that there is large variance among French think tanks. This data aligns with previous research which broadly defines the term “think tank” in the French context so as to address a greater number of institutions. The analysis of the policy area foci of the sample revealed that 31.8% of think tanks surveyed emphasize Transparency & Good
34
Governance, a finding which perhaps coincides with previous literature suggesting a complicated relationship between think tanks and the French government.
Table 6: 2020 French Think Tank Sample Statistics Summary
Average Budget (Sample of Average Staff Size Average Age of Think Tank 23) (Research & (Sample of 25) Administration) (Sample of 25)
$2,803,475 USD 20 people & 13 people 21 years
Figure 10: Percentage of French Think Tanks (Sample of 25) by Affiliation
35
Figure 11: Percentage of French Think Tanks (Sample of 25) by Policy Area
Germany
Germany has been a substantial protagonist in European geopolitics since its unification in 1871. The country currently has the strongest economy in the EU and is one of its political leaders. However, its defeats in the first and second World Wars and its division during the Cold War hindered the development of German civil society during much of the twentieth century. Civil society developed in the pre-WWII years in the form of labor unions, driven by political and social goals, labor unions traditionally worked with the SPD (social democrats), the oldest political party in Germany.52 Churches were important players in pre-WWII years and beyond. They also worked together with the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) that represented both Catholics and Protestants. During the Cold War, while the western democratic German Republic was a free democracy with strong institutions, Eastern Germany was a one-party dictatorship controlled by the Soviet Union that stopped civil and independent initiatives. In West Germany, a free civil society was reborn during the period of re-democratization and during the Western German economic miracle in the 50s and 60s. Some institutions, such as the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (founded in 1914), have survived Germany’s tumultuous twentieth century path. However, German civil society and
52 James McGann and Erik C. Johnson, “Comparative Think Tanks, Politics and Public Policy” 2005 P. 113.
36 think tanks began to flourish in earnest after the German reunification in 1991. The capital move from Bonn to Berlin also increased the appeal for young people to work with and create civil initiatives, resulting in renewed interest in the sector for younger qualified professionals.53 German think tank culture is distinctive compared to other regional and global cultures. In Germany, there is less institutional openness for think tanks, as they are required to work with legislative parts of the government instead of the executive.54 Additionally, the concept of the
"revolving door,"55 does not work as well in Germany, as most representatives are career- politicians and non-governmental think tanks have a disadvantage, as public funding is very large. One important political cultural factor that shapes the think tank environment in Germany is the search of consensus in the construction of public policy, which also differs from the US and UK.56 According to the 2019 Go To Think Tank Index report, there were 218 active think tanks in Germany, this puts the country as the 2nd biggest European think tank ecosystem, after the
UK and the 6th largest in the world.57 Some of these think tanks, such as the party-affiliated Konrad Adenauer Foundation and Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and the independent Transparency International ranked in the top 20 non-US Think Tanks. The team estimated the size of Germany’s think tank community at 216. Of the 218 think tanks listed previously in the TTCSP database, 37 were identified as likely closed. 35 think tanks were not in the TTCSP database previously. 31 institutions or 14% of think tanks out of an estimated 216 created an updated database profile and are included in the German think tank sample. Out of the top 23 German think tanks that were contacted, 10 were responsive and completed their database updates. For the sample, the average number of research staff was 84 individuals and the average number of administrative staff was 39 individuals (Table 7). Both of these averages are significantly higher than the regional staff averages. However, the German sample includes some outliers with multi-hundred individual staffs that increase the average considerably. In the sample, the average budget for German think tanks was $24,993,723 USD, which is significantly
53 “Pennies for their Thoughts,” The Economist, Sept 2, 2004. 54 Josef Braml "U.S. and German Think Tanks in Comparative Perspective," 2006. 55 James McGann, "The Fifth Estate," 2016. 56Alejandra Salas-Porras and Georgina Murray, "Think Tanks and Global Politics: Key Spaces in the Structure of Power," 2017. 57 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
37 higher than the other countries in the region (Table 7). There were many German think tanks with multi-million dollar budgets. The team categorized the affiliation of 31 think tanks in the sample. Roughly half of the think tanks were categorized as autonomous, 27.6% were either affiliated to a political party, quasi-governmental or government agencies (Figure 12). German think tanks in the sample were also characteristically focused in the policy areas of the Environment (25%), Social Policy (17.9%) and Transparency & Good Governance (14.3%) (Figure 13). The average age of think tanks in the database was around 35 years old, with the aforementioned Kiel Institute for the World Economy being the oldest, and the Center for Economic Policy Studies (CWS) being the youngest. Some periods are characteristic for a higher number of think tanks being founded in the database, such as the Weimar Republic (1918-1933), the reconstruction years (1945-1960) and the period revolving around reunification and the founding of the EU (1988-2000), which correlate to periods of political change in Germany. The Weimar Republic counts as the first time Germany was a democracy and there are still 5 think tanks from this period that are still active, which is remarkable considering the effects of World War 2 and the division of the country. One of them is the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, affiliated with the SPD (Social Democrats), which is ranked as one of the highest German think tanks. The period of reconstruction, grossly 1945-1960 saw the recovery of democracy and the creation of new institutions in Western Germany and also the creation of 21 think tanks in the database. Many political parties, like the CDU/CSU (Christian Democrats), were founded then. Their affiliated institutions were also founded in this period, which explains why the christian- democratic Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which ranks as one of the highest German think tanks, was founded in 195558. The last period the team recognized as a flourishing time for think tanks were the twelve years between 1988 and 2000 in which Germany experienced its reunification in a democratic government and the foundation of the European Union. The amount of new think tanks in this period is considerable and the most active in the database, with 59. This allows the team to infer that think tanks might have flourished after reunification and that the new political environment in the European Union. Germany thus boasts one of the most important think tank environments in Europe, considering its large number of well-funded, well-staffed institutions in comparison to its
58 “About us”, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, https://www.kas.de/en/about-us
38
European neighbors. If the country continues as one of the most important political and economic leaders of the EU, this is unlikely to change.
Table 7: 2020 German Think Tank Sample Statistics Summary
Average Budget (Sample of Average Staff Sizes (Samples Average Age of Think Tank 29) of 31) (Sample of 31)
$ 24,993,723 USD Research Staff: 84 34 years old Administrative Staff: 39
Figure 12: Percentage of German think tanks by Affiliation
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Figure 13: Percentage of German Think Tanks by Policy Area
Italy Italy’s initial think tank development is closely tied to its participation in the major events of the early twentieth century. For Italy, like many other Western European countries, the First and Second World Wars were a catalyst for the emergence of a number of research organizations with an international focus.59 Largely a result of US influence, and in some cases direct coordination, think tanks formed in efforts to cope with global challenges and threats.60 The oldest think tank in Italy, The Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), is one such institution.61 Formed in 1934 by a group of students from the Universities of Milan and Pavia, ISPI’s conception was inspired by London’s Royal Institute of Foreign Affairs and New York’s Foreign Policy Association. Supported by donors such as Alberto Pirelli, son of the founder of the Pirelli company, the institute was able to forge strong ties with the business community as well as maintain some degree of autonomy from the Fascist regime of Mussolini. ISPI survives to this day. In the 2019 Go To Think Tank Index report, ISPI was ranked 29th in the top think tanks worldwide (non-US) and 15th in the top thinks in Western Europe.62
59 Anna Longhini, ‘Institutionalization of Foreign Policy Think Tanks in Italy and in the UK: An Explanatory Framework,” Central European Journal of Public Policy 9, no. 2. (December 2015): 97. 60 Ibid 61 “Storia”, Istituto Per Gli Studi di Politica Internazionale, https://www.ispionline.it/it/istituto/storia 62 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
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Following Italy's transition to Republicanism in the late 1940s, Italian civil society began to grow more rapidly, unencumbered by the prohibitions and obstacles of the Fascist regime. Helping to later found the Institute of International Affairs (IAI), one of the most prominent think tanks in Italy today, the journal of politics and culture “Il Mulino” (The Mill) was established in this transitory period. Born in 1951, its mission was to analyse every key issue through both a political and cultural perspective. In 1980, IAI was decreed an ‘Ente morale’ (moral entity) by the president of the republic. The 1960s and 1970s saw the growth of an active Italian proletariat. In response to an increasingly partisan political landscape, institutions formed to provide legitimacy to political parties.63 Such was the case for the Center of International Politics (CeSPI), founded by major political figure Enrico Berlinguer in 1978.64 With a mission to contribute to the renewal of the Italian Communist Party, CeSPI’s initially focused on culture, international politics and European security. By 1985, CeSPI became independent and non-profit as well as recognised by the government as an ‘Ente internazionale’ (internationalist entity). As the institution grew and the Cold War ended, their focus also shifted from mainly European and Western politics to include the developing world too. Later, the formation of the European Union in 1993 acted as another catalyst for an influx of research institutions in Italy.65 Funded by the European Commission, the market for policy evaluations greatly increased on the peninsula. This wave of think tank growth like the first wave following the World Wars is seen as a consequence of internationalization and thus
“reactive” rather than “proactive”.66 Regardless of the impetus for their creation, Italian think tanks have been and continue to be an influential community within the country, the region and around the world. According to the 2019 Go To Think Tank Index Report, there are 114 think tanks in
Italy.67 As of 2019, Italy is the tenth country with the largest number of think tanks in the world,
63 Alice Kelikian and Paul Ginsborg. “Italy and Its Discontents: Family, Civil Society, State 1980–2001,” New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 2003. Pp. xv, 520. The American Historical Review, Volume 109, Issue 4, October 2004, Pages 1335–1336, 64 “La nostra Storia”, Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale https://www.cespi.it/it/chi-siamo/la-nostra-storia 65 Claudio M. Radaelli and Albert P. Martini, “Think Tanks, advocacy coalitions and policy change: the Italian case,” Think Tanks Across Nations: A Comparative Approach. ed. Diane Stone, Andrew Denham and Mark Garnett (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998): 63. 66 Ibid 67 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
41 and the fourth in Europe. Out of the 141 think tanks ranked in the top think tanks in Western Europe, nine are Italian. Taking the 114 Italian think tanks included in the 2019 Go To Think Tank Index Report as a baseline estimate, the team attempted to contact each one of these institutions and searched for institutions that were not included in this number. Of the 114 think tanks, the team identified 26 institutions that are likely closed based upon meeting one or more of the criteria outlined previously for a likely closed institution. The team also identified 14 think tanks not previously listed in the TTCSP database including 12 institutions from the On Think Tanks Directory. Incorporating all these data points, the team reached a total population estimate of 102 for think tanks in Italy, a decrease of 12 institutions from the most recent TTCSP report. From the team’s outreach efforts, 24 out of the estimated 102 Italian think tanks or 23.53% have created an updated profile for the TTCSP Global Think Tanks Database. Out of the top nine Italian think tanks contacted, seven responded and completed their database updates and one is likely permanently closed. Despite repeated efforts, 89 think tanks have not updated their information, and are not included in this sample. Of the 24 think tanks that responded, the average age of institutions in the country is approximately 31 years (Table 8). This suggests that most think tanks still active today in Italy were established in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Many of Italy’s Western European neighbors such as Austria, Germany, France, the UK and Belgium all have similar average ages for their think tanks. Ultimately, the concentration of institutions established during this period points to how internationalization and European cooperation at the end of the century resulted in the formation of institutions in each member state in efforts to produce research which could guide successful international partnerships. The average annual budget of the 24 institutions that responded is $1,639,007 USD (Table 8), which is substantially lower than the average budget for sample of all Western European think tanks of $7,743,937 USD. In comparison to the other countries in the region with the large numbers of think tanks including the UK, Germany, and France, Italy’s average budget is the lowest. This finding is consistent with findings by scholars such as Anna Longhini in her paper ‘Institutionalization of Foreign Policy Think Tanks in Italy and in the UK: An Explanatory Framework.’ From her research, Italy has a comparatively low amount of ‘political money’
42
invested in think tanks as opposed to its European counterparts such as the UK.68 This is because most of the money raised by think tanks in Italy is from public contributions; for example, because ISPI and AIA are both “enti internazionalistici” (international organizations), they receive some limited support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is notable that the sample of Italian think tanks has average research and administrative staffs of 34 and 10, respectively, that are very similar to the regional averages of 34 and 10 (Table 8). Italian think tank’s staffing parity with the rest of the region is made more significant in the face of the large disparity between the average budgets for Italian institutions and the region as a whole. It is possible that these findings point to an element of Italian think tank culture that distinguishes it from the rest of the region. Further research is needed to make a definitive conclusion in this regard. Based upon the definitions of think tank affiliation categories detailed earlier in the report, more than half of the 24 think tanks that responded were classified as “autonomous and independent” (Figure 14). The presence of a large number of independent think tanks is indicative of well developed civil society that is insulated from government. This is especially relevant for Italy because its political landscape is always changing; since 1945, Italy has had 66 governments. Moreover, the three main policy areas for think tanks in the sample include Domestic Economics (25%), Foreign Policy and International Relations (20.8%) and Social Policy (16.7%) (Figure 15). As the percent of Italian think tanks focusing on internal affairs is not too much more than those exploring foreign affairs, one could argue Italian think tanks have not saturated one policy area and instead branched out into different research areas. As a whole, the Italian think tank sample reaffirms Italy’s prominent position within the global think tank community. Though some institutions are not as well funded as some of their regional counterparts, Italian think tanks continue to support comparable research staffs as permanent, enduring independent policy institutions.
68 Anna Longhini, ‘Institutionalization of Foreign Policy Think Tanks in Italy and in the UK: An Explanatory Framework,” Central European Journal of Public Policy 9, no. 2. (December 2015): 112.
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Table 8:2020 Italian Think Tank Sample Statistics Summary
Average Budget Average Staff Size Average Age of Think Tank (Sample of 21) (Research & (Sample of 24) Administration) (Both samples of 23)
$1,639,006 USD 34 people & 10 people 31 years
Figure 14: Percentage of Italian Think Tanks (Sample of 24) by Affiliation
Figure 15: Percentage of Italian Think Tanks (Sample of 24) by Policy Area
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Spain
Spain, located on Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, hosts an extensive think tank network that actively contributes to political research on a national and international stage. Historically under the European parliamentary system, policy formation seemed reserved for powerful party executives, associated interest groups and permanent civil servants who were experienced in the art of policymaking.69 This political culture left little scope for the inception of Spanish and Western European think tanks during the onset of the emergence of civil society in Western Europe. Nevertheless this political culture did not impede the development of think tanks in Western Europe as there are over 1,500 known think tanks located in the region and the number of think tanks within Spain continues to grow. Spanish think tanks’ influence in terms of visibility and media coverage has increased in the last 15 years, and most significantly after Spain’s economic crisis in 2008. The necessity of policy implementation called for immediate input from Spanish think tanks and increased the attention placed on these institutions in the
69 Alan J. Day “Think Tanks in Western Europe,” in Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action, ed. James G. McGann and R. Kent Weaver (England: Routledge, 2017), 103
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media.70Western European and Spanish think tanks continue to play an active role in the policy making process at both the national and regional level today. According to the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, Spain has 66 known think tanks out of the 1,523 institutions located in Western Europe. Spain ranks 20th in the “Countries with the Largest Number of Think Tanks” category, and 9th among Western Europe. Four Spanish think tanks - Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), Elcano Royal Institute, Fundación Alternativas, Fundación para el Análisis y los Estudios Sociales (FAES) - rank 30th, 38th, 89th and 106th in the 2019 Top Think Tanks Worldwide (non-US) category respectively.71 There were 66 think tanks initially listed in the TTCSP database. 12 Spanish think tanks that were absent from the TTCSP database were identified. 12 Spanish think tanks were also identified to likely be closed. Resulting in a net change of zero institutions and an estimated size of the Spanish think tank community of 66 institutions. 20 (30%) Spanish think tanks updated their institution’s profile in the TTCSP database. These 19 Spanish think tanks serve as a representative sample for Spain in Western Europe. Despite extensive outreach efforts, 74 Spanish think tanks are not included in this representative sample due to the absence of an updated institution profile. Based on completed and updated database profiles, the following metrics were calculated and analyzed: budget, policy area and affiliation category, date established, staff size. The budget for Spanish think tanks ranged from approximately $15,000 USD to over $5.5 million USD. The average budget was $1,298,997 USD. Historically, the US based definition of think tanks was difficult to apply to Western Europe states such as Spain, as European think tanks largely depended on public funding from government organizations and university affiliated institutions. For instance, Spain and southern Europe think tanks did not fit the American prototype of a think tank due the close government links. However, Spanish think tanks are increasingly becoming autonomous and sourcing from private funding. In this representative sample, 10 Spanish think tanks are autonomous and independent. 2 think tanks are quasi-governmental, 5 university affiliated, and 1 government
70 Fernando Castelló-Sirvent, Vanessa Roger-Monzó & Juan Manuel GarcíaGarcía, “Deep impact: a longitudinal analysis of the presence of think tanks in the press during the crisis and the recovery period,” 2019. 71 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
46 affiliated (Figure 16). This representative sample represents the evolving nature of Spanish think tanks that are increasingly depending more on independent funding that government support. The top three main policy areas for Spanish think tanks in our representative sample are Foreign Policy and International Affairs (20%), Transparency & Good Governance (20.0%), and Domestic Economics (2.0%). Policy areas such as Education (5%), Environmental (5%) and International Economics (5%) are represented less. Notably absent are areas such as Food, Water, International Health and Domestic Health (Figure 17). Spanish think tanks on average are relatively young institutions compared to their European or American counterparts. The average age of Spanish think tanks in the sample is 20 years. The relative youth of Spain’s think tank community might be explained by the destructive effects that decades of dictatorial rule under Fransisco Franco had on the country’s civil society. With an average 7 person administrative staff, Spanish think tanks rank lower than the regional mean of 15. However, Spanish think tanks are on par with the regional mean for research staff 49 with 45 research staff on average for Spain based institutions (Table 9). Overall, the sample confirms previous research that while Spain is home to some prominent think tanks and continues to see growth in the number and prominence of policy institutions, it has a relatively underdeveloped think tank landscape compared to other Western European countries. Table 9: 2020 Spanish Think Tank Sample Statistics Summary
Average Budget (Sample of Average Staff Size: Average Age of Think Tank 19) Research & Administration. (Sample of 20) (Both samples of 20)
$1,298,997 USD 45 & 7 20 years
Figure 16: Spanish Think Tank (Sample of 20) Policy Affiliation Summary
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Figure 17: Spanish Think Tank (Sample of 20) Policy Areas
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Sweden
Sweden is a welfare state in northern Europe whose reform movements have paralleled industrial development over the course of the last 150 years. At the end of the 19th century, 90% of Sweden’s population worked in agriculture. During this time there were strong populist movements. Over the first third of the 20th century Sweden saw rapid industrialization that established it as a leading industrial nation after the 2nd World War. Labour movements grew with the industrialization, and social democrats first took office in 1917. Welfare state policies were implemented after World War II.72 This system remains today, and think tanks play a major role in reforming the welfare state policies and the labor market. The primary reason for this is the dynamics of the political system in Sweden. Minority parties play a strong role in the Swedish government because the leading party is often not in the majority. This requires strong societal support for decisions. Think tanks and committees are influential in researching, justifying, and garnering support throughout the country. These institutions primarily focus on long-term issues and amendments to the welfare state, as opposed to individual bills and explicit changes. Throughout the 1990s, the State Public Report committees (SOU by their initial in Swedish) were a major part of the reforms regarding benefits and pensions. These commissions work hand in hand with think tanks who support and conduct targeted research on the policies and challenges. This system has created widespread debate and public awareness about the issues and reform efforts.73 Today, think tanks continue to provide support to these policy groups because of the governmental system. These institutions cover a wide range of research focuses from economics to the environment, international affairs, and social policy. Think tanks continue to be founded in an effort to improve Swedish society. According to the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, there are 90 think tanks in Sweden, which ranks 14th worldwide for countries with the largest number of think tanks and 5th in Western Europe. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is the top
72“History of Sweden – More than Vikings: Official Site of Sweden,” Sweden.se, March 31, 2020, https://sweden.se/society/history-of-sweden/. 73Werner Eichhorst and Ole Wintermann, “Generating Legitimacy for Labor Market and Welfare State Reforms: The Role of Policy Advice in Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden,” SSRN, November 29, 2005, https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=857245.
49 ranked Swedish think tank. It ranks 27th on the 2019 List of Top Think Tanks Worldwide (Non- US) and 31st of top think tanks including the United States. Timbro (The Swedish Free Enterprise Foundation) is the only other Swedish think tank on the top list at number 113, but 93rd on the Top Think Tanks Worldwide (US and Non-US). These two think tanks rank 25th and 50th respectively in Western Europe.74 The team identified 9 think tanks that were included in the On Think Tanks Directory but were not present in the TTCSP database. Of the 90 think tanks in the TTCSP database, the team compiled lists of the Swedish think tanks with new circumstances. Also, the team identified 23 think tanks that are likely closed based on the criteria detailed earlier in this report. Based on these updates, the team estimates there are 76 think tanks in Sweden. Of the 76 Swedish think tanks, 7 think tanks, or 9% of Swedish institutions submitted updated profiles in response to the team’s requests. The team conducted several rounds of outreach including emails, phone calls, and contact through social media, but the remaining 69 think tanks were not responsive to the database update. It is possible that Swedish institutions were particularly unresponsive because our outreach was conducted during the summer months when many Swedes take long vacations. There were 5 Swedish think tanks listed as top think tanks in Western Europe in the 2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report. All 5 of these institutions completed the profile update for the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database. The other 2 database updates came from non-top think tanks in the Index Report. Analysis of the data received from the profile updates indicated that the average age of Swedish think tanks is 23 years (Table 10). However, it is important to note that the ages of Swedish think tanks range from 1 year to 54 years. The oldest institution is the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, founded in 1966, which is also Sweden’s top think tank. Free Europe is the most recently founded think tank in Sweden, having opened in 2019. In terms of employees, Swedish think tanks have an average of 46 research staff and 12 administrative staff (Table 10). However, the averages are skewed right because of a major outlier with 210 researchers and 40 administrators. All of the other Swedish think tanks who provided data have fewer than 50 researchers and 25 administrators. The averages excluding the
74 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
50 outlier are 19 researchers and 7 administrators. 4 of the 7 think tanks have either 2 or 3 administrators. 2 of the think tanks have fewer than 10 employees total. There is also a major disparity in funding for Swedish think tanks. The average budget is $6,913,911 USD (Table 10), which is below the average of $7,827,796 USD for Western Europe. However, the reported budgets ranged from less than $100,000 USD to over $30,000,000 USD. Notably, the team categorized 6 of the 7 Swedish think tanks as autonomous and independent, with one labeled as quasi-independent (Figure 18). No government-affiliated nor university-affiliated think tanks from Sweden completed the profile update. However, it has been noted in the past that Nordic countries tend to have many university-affiliated think tanks. The think tanks’ policy areas included International Economics, Social Policy, Foreign Policy & International Affairs, Domestic Economics, Environment, and Defense & National Security (Figure 19). Economics was the most common policy focus with two focusing on domestic economics and one on international economics. It is evident that there is a large variation among Swedish think tanks in all areas of analysis. Given the sample size, there is no overwhelming theme, size, age, budget, policy area or affiliation.
Table 10: 2020 Swedish Think Tank Statistics Summary
Average Budget Average Staff Size Average Age of Think Tank (Sample of 7) (Research & (Sample of 7) Administration) (Sample of 7)
$6,913,911 USD 46 people & 12 people 23 years
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Figure 18: Percentage of Swedish Think Tank (Sample of 7) by Affiliation
Figure 19: Percentage of Swedish Think Tank (Sample of 7) by Policy Area
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United Kingdom
Although the term “think tank” was not adopted until the mid 20th century, some of the earliest predecessors began in the United Kingdom. 75 The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) was founded in 1831 and is the oldest independent defense and security think tank in the world.76 The Fabian Society is Britain’s oldest political think tank, which has been researching and promoting left-wing policies since 1884.77 The United Kingdom saw a steady increase in the number of think tanks throughout the 20th century. This can be attributed to the major changes and European conflicts during this time. At the turn of the century, think tanks like the Joseph Rowntree Foundation focused on social policy, then Chatham House was founded in 1920 to study international affairs. Following this, the UK think tanks began to trend toward economic research in the mid 20th century, with some focus on law, democracy, and private sector development as well. Environmental think tanks became common in the 1970s and 1980s and have continued to be founded in the 21st century. Over the last half century, hundreds of UK think tanks have formed in all of these sectors and in those with more niche focuses. During the final decade of the 20th century and the start of the 21st century, think tanks provided research, policy advice, and expertise on the modernization of the British Labour Party.78 In general, however, political parties in the United Kingdom have tended to not establish their own party- affiliated think tanks because of the “adversarial tendencies of the British political system.”79 The civil society of Western Europe is tainted with “political polarization, the fragmentation of political parties and a public that is lost in a sea of insecurity and understandably full of distrust and discontent.”80 The United Kingdom has played a major role in the hostilities by exiting the European Union; the UK officially ended its membership on January
31, 2020 after a statewide referendum vote in 2016 tallied 52% in favor of Brexit.81 Even after a
75 “United Kingdom Country Profile,” BBC News (BBC, February 7, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/world- europe-18023389. 76 “About RUSI,” RUSI, accessed July 21, 2020, https://rusi.org/about-rusi. 77 “Our History,” Fabian Society, accessed July 21, 2020, https://fabians.org.uk/about-us/our-history/. 78 Hartwig Pautz, “Think Tanks in the United Kingdom and Germany: Actors in the Modernisation of Social Democracy,” The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 12, no. 2 (May 2010): 274–94. 79 Narelle Miragliotta, “Institutional Dynamics and Party Think Tank Development: Britain and Germany Compared,” Taylor & Francis, 2018, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14662043.2018.1435159. 80 James McGann, “2019 European Think Tank Summit,” TTCSP Global and Regional Think Tank Summit Reports, 2019, https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&context=ttcsp_summitreports. 81 Tom Edgington, “Brexit: All You Need to Know about the UK Leaving the EU,” BBC News (BBC, July 13, 2020), https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887.
53 majority vote and four years of negotiations, there has not been a compromise between the Prime Minister and EU leaders. Discussions have centered around issues including funding limitation to UK companies by the British government to ensure fair competition with the rest of the EU, worker qualification recognition, and rules of origin. UK and EU think tanks are publishing balanced works that explain the situation and provide policy and solution proposals. The 2019 European Think Tank Summit identified the public trend away from credible resources as a challenge that needs to be addressed. The role of think tanks to disseminate information and combat public confusion is exemplified in the publications of UK think tanks such as a recent
Centre for European Reform article, “EU-UK Negotiations: No Need to Panic (Yet).”82 Notably, UK think tanks consistently rank highly worldwide. The second non-US think tank in the world is the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) and the fifth is Chatham house, both of which are headquartered in London. In Western Europe, UK think tanks account for thirteen of the top fifty think tanks and twenty-five of the top one-hundred. Categorically, IISS is the top Defense and National Security think tank in the world and Chatham House is fourth in International Affairs, with RUSI also ranking in the top five. The Adam Smith Institute is fourth in the world for Domestic Economy think tanks, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies is third for Energy and Resource Policy, the Institute of Development Studies is first for International Development Policy, and the Science Policy and Research Unit is third for Science and Technology Policy think tanks. The Cambridge Center for Health Services Research was awarded the 2016-2018 Global Health Policy Center of Excellence, and the Human Rights
Watch was awarded the 2019 Best Advocacy Campaign.83 According to the 2019 Go To Think Tank Index Report, there were 321 think tanks in the United Kingdom. The UK is ranked fourth highest in the world for number of think tanks and number one in Western Europe. The team also identified two new UK think tanks individually and 35 UK think tanks from the On Think Tanks Directory. The team estimates that there are 358 think tanks in the UK. Out of this total, 44 think tanks or 12% updated their institution’s profile and are included in the sample. Despite repeated outreach efforts, the team was unable to collect information and database updates from the remaining UK think tanks. A portion of UK
82 Sam Lowe, “EU-UK Negotiations: No Need to Panic (Yet),” Centre for European Reform, June 12, 2020, https://www.cer.eu/insights/eu-uk-negotiations-no-need-panic-yet. 83 James McGann, “2019 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” 2020.
54 think tanks were very responsive to TTCSP outreach emails, while others were absent. It is possible that some larger think tanks receive such a high volume of emails that they were unable to acknowledge the team’s requests. The average age of UK think tanks in the team’s collected sample of 42 think tanks is 32 years, suggesting that the majority of active UK think tanks were established in the 1980s and 1990s. This coincides with the founding of other Western European think tanks in countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, and Italy. The proliferation of think tank openings throughout this period may be attributed to the rise of international cooperation, the establishment of the European Union, and the many facets of globalization. Overall, the data suggest a sharp increase in the number of policymaking institutions established in the early 1990s with the aim of influencing government decision making processes. According to the team’s collected sample, the average budget for UK think tanks is $5,489,992 USD. 15 UK think tanks had an annual budget of $2,000,000 USD or greater, with a small handful of institutions reporting budgets greater than $20,000,000 USD. As for the average staff size of UK think tanks in the team’s sample, there are about 28 members of research staff and 14 members of administrative staff (Table 11). These staff sizes fall within the lower end of the range of other Western European countries in the sample, with the most research staff being present in Austria and the least in Iceland. On average, UK think tanks have more administrative staff members than the majority of other Western European countries except for Austria and Germany. This may suggest that UK think tanks place a great emphasis on internal affairs and operations extending past research. In terms of policy area and mission, UK think tanks from the team’s sample can be generally categorized into three main areas: Transparency & Good Governance (23.7%), Foreign Policy & International Affairs (18.4%), and International Development (15.8%). Other prominent policy areas include Social Policy and Domestic Economics, which each comprise 13.2% of the sample (Figure 20). An additional analysis of UK think tank affiliation shows that the vast majority of institutions are autonomous and independent (75%). 10% of UK think tanks are university affiliated, and 7.5% are quasi-governmental. Two UK think tanks are quasi-independent, and 1 think tank is political party affiliated. The team’s sample did not identify any for profit or government affiliated UK think tanks (Figure 21).
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While the UK continues to lead the region in terms of number of think tanks, its budget and staff size averages did not significantly deviate from the regional averages. The data found that some of the oldest and most prestigious UK think tanks receive significantly high funding and employ large numbers of staff. It is clear that the UK remains a strong part of the regional think tank community, but the preeminence that it enjoyed through much of the twentieth century is not manifested in the sample data collected.
Table 11: 2020 United Kingdom Think Tank Statistics Summary
Average Budget Average Staff Size Average Age of Think Tank (Sample of 39) (Research & (Sample of 44) Administrative) (Sample of 42 and 43)
$5,489,992 USD Research Staff: 28 32 years old Administrative Staff: 14
Figure 20: Percentage of United Kingdom Think Tank (Sample of 44) by Policy Area
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Figure 21: United Kingdom Think Tank (Sample of 44) Affiliation Summary
Conclusion and Areas for Future Study
The analyses conducted in this report offer a contribution to scholarly understanding of the Western European think tank landscape. The team’s efforts to estimate the current number of think tanks in the region yielded important insights into the size and makeup of the current landscape and underscored the importance of continually updating the TTCSP Global Think Tank Database. Notably, the team identified 327 think tanks not previously listed in the database. The team also identified 334 potentially closed think tanks. In combination with the total number of previously identified Western European think tanks in the database, these data points point to a new estimate of 1516 institutions. The team’s estimate is seven think tanks fewer than the previous estimate of 1523 in 2019. This decrease of only 0.46% is not significant given the possibility for errors in both identifying new and likely closed institutions. Thus, the data collected does not conclusively point to a decline in the number of active Western European Think Tanks, especially given that newly identified think tanks represent over 20% of the current TTCSP database section for Western Europe. The fact that the team was able to identify this many institutions in such a short period, as non-experts, indicates that there are likely more think
57 tanks in the region than are accounted for in the database. There was a similarly large proportion of the previous database that was identified as likely closed. In combination, these two proportions underscore the importance of continually improving the TTCSP database with updated information on recent changes to the think tank landscape. The sample of 242 think tanks from 17 countries in the region also yield important insights into the current composition of the Western European think tank landscape. As a whole, the sample confirmed many of the previously identified characteristics of the region’s think tanks. Western Europe remains a major region for think tank activity and many countries in the region have multiple highly ranked, influential think tanks. It is the home of many institutions with large staffs, impressive budgets and long histories. However, the sample also demonstrated that there is tremendous variation in the specific situations of the region’s think tanks. There were many recently established institutions with small, sometimes single person staffs and equally small budgets. As the earlier closer analysis of the country-level differences between think tanks indicated, the character of institutions in particular countries are often closely related to their historical trajectories and political cultures. The same two countries, the UK and Germany, continue to lead the region on nearly every metric analyzed in this study. The UK retains the lead for the greatest number of think tanks, but Germany has a significantly higher average budget and average staff size. The dominance of these two countries is potentially explained by unique elements that have aided the development of each of their think tank communities. The UK has long been a think tank pioneer and its institutions have historically enjoyed significant prestige. On the other hand, Germany has as a country and through government intervention supported and funded think tank development to a greater extent than other countries in the region. Using a larger sample of 1366 think tanks, the team was able to offer new evidence highlighting two previously observed trends in the establishment of think tanks in Western Europe. The data from this sample highlighted a notable period of think tank growth surrounding the establishment of the European Union in 1993. Additionally, a significant dip in think tank growth in the 2010s confirms previous observations that the growth rate of the Western European Think Tank landscape is slowing. While this project offers relevant insights into the past development and current realities of the Western European think tank landscape, there are some areas where further research is
58 needed. Potentially significant scholarly work is needed to understand how the crises of the last few years including BREXIT and other challenges to the stability of the European Union are affecting the think tank landscape It is possible that these events might contribute to a new wave of think tank establishment as the European Union struggles to manage relationships with its members and its close allies. Additionally, it is likely that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will have significant effects on the operations of Western European think tanks as well as the think tank landscape in general. It is possible that the pandemic might lead to more rapid adoption of internet-based operation practices. Another area to explore is whether the pandemic will lead to a new wave of think tank growth in the sectors of domestic and international public health, two relatively small sectors of policy according to the data collected in this project. Future research into the response of Western European think tanks to these contemporary events and crises will be critical to understand how the Western European think tank landscape continues to change. Finally, given the significant variation across many of the metrics studied in this report, there remain open questions about whether a broad definition of think tanks enables effective study of policy institutions. A broad definition ensures that more of the relevant parties attempting to influence public policy are included in research. However, the realities of operations for an unfunded, single researcher think tank and for a multimillion dollar-endowed institutions with over a hundred researchers are incredibly different. A further subdivision of think tanks based upon size and funding might be needed to standardize the way that scholars categorize institutions. The specific markers and thresholds defining these categories would be an important future contribution to the scholarly conception of think tanks.
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Appendices
Appendix I: Selected Tables
Table A: Summary of Western Europe Think Tank Estimate Delta Number of 2019 Number of Number of Think Tanks Number of to Think Tanks Think Tanks Final 2020 Delta 2019 in TTCSP New Think 2020 Country According to in TTCSP Estimate by to 2020 Database Tanks (Numb the 2019 Database Still Country (%) Likely Identified er of GGTTI Active Closed Think Tanks) Andorra 2 1 1 0 1 -1 -50.00%
Austria 74 62 12 5 67 -7 -9.46%
Belgium 60 45 15 19 64 +4 6.67%
Denmark 51 32 19 4 36 -15 -29.41%
Finland 29 24 5 4 28 -1 -3.45%
France 203 149 54 56 205 +2 0.99%
Germany 218 181 37 35 216 -2 -0.92%
Greece 46 32 14 7 39 -7 -15.22%
Iceland 8 6 2 0 6 -2 -25.00%
Ireland 16 12 4 1 13 -3 -18.75%
Italy 114 88 26 14 102 -12 -10.53%
Liechtenstein 2 1 1 3 4 +2 100.00%
Luxembourg 8 6 2 1 7 -1 -12.50%
Malta 4 3 1 1 4 +0 0.00%
Monaco 2 2 0 0 2 +0 0.00%
Netherlands 83 66 17 13 79 -4 -4.82%
Norway 22 18 4 13 31 +9 40.91%
Portugal 25 14 11 33 47 +22 88.00%
San Marino 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0.00%
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Spain 66 54 12 12 66 +0 0.00%
Sweden 90 67 23 9 76 -14 -15.56%
Switzerland 78 50 28 14 64 -14 -17.95% United 321 275 46 83 358 +37 11.53% Kingdom Vatican City 1 1 0 0 1 +0 0.00% Regional 1523 1189 334 327 1516 -7 -0.46% Values
Table B: Summary of Western Europe Regional Sample Number of Updated Proportion of Estimate Country 2020 Estimate Profiles Collected Andorra 1 0 0.00%
Austria 67 14 20.90%
Belgium 64 18 28.13%
Denmark 36 7 19.44%
Finland 28 7 25.00%
France 205 25 12.20%
Germany 216 31 14.35%
Greece 39 4 10.26%
Iceland 6 1 16.67%
Ireland 13 2 15.38%
Italy 102 24 23.53%
Liechtenstein 4 0 0.00%
Luxembourg 7 0 0.00%
Malta 4 0 0.00%
Monaco 2 0 0.00%
Netherlands 79 12 15.19%
Norway 31 3 9.68%
Portugal 47 15 31.91%
San Marino 0 0 0.00%
Spain 66 20 30.30%
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Sweden 76 7 9.21%
Switzerland 64 8 12.50% United 358 44 12.29% Kingdom Vatican City 1 0 0.00% Regional 1516 242 15.96% Values
Table C: Sample Size of Metrics by Selected Country
Number of Sample Size for Sample Size for Sample Size for Sample Size for Country Updated Administrative Budget Age Research Staff Profiles Staff Belgium 18 16 18 18 18
France 25 23 25 25 25
Germany 31 29 31 31 31
Italy 24 21 24 23 23
Spain 20 19 20 20 20
Sweden 7 7 7 7 7
United Kingdom 44 39 44 42 43
Regional Values 242 219 242 238 240
Table D: Think Tank Policy Areas by Selected Countries
United Policy Area Belgium France Germany Italy Spain Sweden Kingdom Defense & National 2 3 1 1 3 1 3 Security Domestic 1 3 2 6 4 2 7 Economics Education 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 Energy & 2 0 4 0 0 0 0 Resources Environment 1 1 7 1 1 1 2
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Foreign Policy & International 1 1 3 5 4 1 7 Affairs
Domestic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Health Global Health 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 International 0 2 1 1 0 0 7 Development International 3 2 1 2 1 1 1 Economics Science & 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 Technology Social Policy 4 4 7 4 2 1 5 Transparency & Good 3 7 4 3 4 0 9 Governance Food 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Water 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sample Size by Selected 18 25 31 24 20 7 44 Country
Table E: Think Tank Affiliations by Selected Countries
United Affiliation Belgium France Germany Italy Spain Sweden Kingdom Autonomous and independent 6 13 13 18 10 4 28
Quasi-independent 7 5 5 2 2 3 6
University affiliated 0 2 1 1 5 0 5
Political-party affiliated 1 0 2 0 0 0 1
Government affiliated 2 5 3 0 2 0 0
Quasi-governmental 2 0 4 0 1 0 3
For profit 0 0 3 3 0 0 1 Affiliation Sample Size by 18 25 31 24 20 7 44 Selected Countries
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Appendix II: Methodology
Throughout the course of the data collection project, the team encountered many obstacles to completing its research. These challenges included effective intrateam communication, organizing multiple streams of sometimes heterogeneous data, and contacting small think tanks that had a limited web presence and few staff members. Through trial and error, the team identified certain practices that led to success more often than others. This section outlines the team’s methodology and traces its evolution over the course of the project. We hope that the information related to the strategies and challenges contained in this section will be useful for future TTCSP intern teams. Google Sheets was an essential tool for ensuring that the team stayed organized. The team together managed multiple shared spreadsheets used for data collection, and at least 1 spreadsheet per team member containing a portion of the master TTCSP database. In the first and second data collection phases, the team began with one shared spreadsheet to compile information for the top Western European think tanks listed in the Global Go To Index for Western Europe. Here team members listed each main staff member’s name and contact information, selected a status of the contacts (finished or incomplete) from a drop-down list, and a notes section for detailing their outreach efforts. This included notes with dates and recipients of outreach and the platforms used. The spreadsheet had additional columns for noting whether email requests for contact information had been sent, when follow-ups were sent, and the recipients and dates of Town Hall registration requests (the contact information was used to promote the ongoing TTCSP Global Think Tank Town Hall series) and database update requests and follow-ups. This spreadsheet also contained tabs for think tanks who had not filled out the database updates, think tanks with special circumstances, and a list of updated think tanks. This allowed team members to closely and diligently track their outreach efforts to the top think tanks in Western Europe, the responses of each institution and whether or not an institution had submitted an updated database profile. During the third data collection phase, the team’s aperture widened to include all of the think tanks in Western Europe. The TTCSP Global Think Tank Database section for Western Europe served as the team’s baseline of regional think tank data. In order to effectively contact the 1,523 listed institutions, each team member was assigned a portion of the database section largely based on their language skills. In separate spreadsheets, each team member worked to
64 reach out to their assigned think tanks. In order to work efficiently to reach as many institutions as possible, the team adopted multiple standard procedures to keep records of inactive email addresses and to send out emails to multiple recipients in a rapid manner using a mail merge program programmed as a Google Add-on called Yet Another Mail Merge (YAMM). By creating a column for emails that bounce or are no longer in service, team members can save significant amounts of time and effort while assisting future interns looking to reach out to these think tanks again. Yet Another Mail Merge was also relevant in the individual spreadsheets when working quickly and producing results in a timely manner was imperative. Mail Merge allows users to see who opened, clicked, and received an email in addition to emails that bounced or could not be delivered. Overall, these two practices saved time and unnecessary work. Throughout this process, some think tanks were identified as likely closed based upon the following criteria: (1) it did not have a functioning website; (2) emails to the institution bounced; (3) it did not respond to calls; (4) it had been absorbed by other think tanks; (5) it could not be traced or found anywhere on the internet; or (6) either its website or other news sources indicated that the think tank had been closed. These institutions were listed in a shared phase III spreadsheet along with other problematic entries in the previous database such as duplicates, potential non-think tanks, and think tanks that had been incorporated into other institutions. Every entry included in this spreadsheet had a notes section in which the particular circumstances of the institution were detailed. Later in the data collection process, in an effort to improve the accuracy of the representative sample of database profiles collected by the team, a concentrated effort was made to solicit updates from the countries for which we still had no profiles. Through these efforts, the team was able to collect updated profiles from countries with a total estimated population of over seven think tanks. During phase III, the team also conducted outreach to the top think tank networks in the region. None of these institutions provided significant data on their members. The final element of the team’s data collection efforts was identifying new think tanks. Some of these institutions were discovered through the course of our work in other phases of the project. In addition, the team searched multiple open source think tank databases including the Open Think Tanks Directory produced by the UK-based On Think Tanks program. The team found that the best sources for new think tanks was often in the partners section of the websites of think tanks already known to TTCSP.
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At nearly every stage of the project, communication with think tank staff members was essential. The level of professionalism with which the team approached think tanks was highly determinative of their response. When soliciting responses from think tanks, professional looking emails and differentiated templates were key. As a collective, the data collection project leads worked with Dr. McGann to create templates for purposes including requests for contact information, the initial request for database updates, follow up requests, and requests for assistance with contacting other regional or national institutions. Team members also made sure to include the TTCSP letterhead and a brief introductory paragraph stating their role as interns and why they were seeking these institutions’ information. Messaging individual staff members on LinkedIn also proved to be helpful. This allowed team members to directly contact a director or staff member, inquire about other contacts, and ask them to submit their database update information. This personalized mode of communication sometimes heeded quicker responses than general emails. Calling think tanks was another useful method of soliciting responses from think tanks. Staff members were more likely to fulfill interns’ requests of completing the database update if the think tank representatives were speaking directly over the phone with one intern. It also allowed team members to establish connections with the institutions that were more personal than simply sending messages to a general email address. The team’s greatest obstacle throughout this process was timing. As interns were spread across various teams and had multiple assignments, there was limited time to focus the data collection team’s full attention on soliciting responses from think tanks. The pressures of time made time saving practices like templates and standardized spreadsheets essential for success. Each week, the team learned something new about efficient practices for collecting data. Not all of the aforementioned practices were implemented on day one of the internship. As a team, we learned some of these lessons through trial-and-error. It is our hope that by sharing our experiences, future TTCSP interns can be even more successful than our team and contribute to TTCSP’s understanding of the global think tank landscape.
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Appendix III: The Research Team
Andrew Orner (Project Lead) is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania Studying Economics and Political Science with a minor in Hispanic Studies. He is from Darien, CT. At Penn, he is a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, a 2020-2021 Perry World House Student Fellow and a member of the varsity Lightweight Rowing team.
Kamryn Jackson is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania.
Italia Messina is a senior at Temple University studying Political Science and Global Studies with a concentration in Economics. She is from Roseland, NJ. At Temple, she is involved with Temple Student Government as Director of Academic Affairs and enjoys writing for the Global Studies Society. She has completed a minor in French and hopes to study in France in the future.
Anna Newnam is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania studying Economics and Political Science with a minor in American Public Policy. She is from Asheville, NC. At Penn she is a member of the varsity Swim Team and a student-athlete tutor. She has completed the Spanish language certificate and hopes to study abroad in Spain in the future.
Gabriella Rabito is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences studying International Relations and History with a minor in American Public Policy from the Wharton School. Growing up in New York in a two-party household, her introduction to the political arena was sparked at a very young age. She is a Perry World House Student Fellow, volunteer with Penn Leads the Vote, former Pennsylvania Campaign Fellow and project lead for TTCSP’s Global Issues, Politics and Governance Team.
Bianca Serbin is a junior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is studying History and minoring in French. As a dual citizen of Brazil and the U.S., she grew up with a particular interest in languages and studying different cultures. At Penn, Bianca has developed her understanding of interdisciplinary studies as a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, and maintains an interest in writing and journalism as a sports editor for the Daily Pennsylvanian.
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Pedro Siemsen Giestas is a sophomore at Columbia University studying History and Philosophy. He is from São Paulo, Brazil.
Annarosa Zampaglione is a sophomore at Columbia University studying History and French Literature. She is Italian and grew up in Washington D.C. She enjoys journalism and writes for Consilience, the undergraduate sustainable development journal, and the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review.
Valeria Zeballos Doubinko is a senior at the University of Pennsylvania, where she studies Economics and minors in International Development. In the fall of 2020, she will begin her Masters in Social Policy at the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, Valeria is involved with PennSID, an international development group, and Europenn, a European student group. She enjoys painting and reading in her free time.
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