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An Analysis of Western European Think Tanks

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An Analysis of Western European Think Tanks 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 1 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 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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
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