While the North American news media may give think tanks high visibility, newly published research from a political science leader at The University of Western Ontario shows the actual influence of think tanks is not as substantial.
Donald Abelson, director of the Centre for American Studies at Western and chair of the university’s Department of Political Science, is the author of the updated book Do Think Tanks Matter?
Abelson say given the huge growth in the number of think tanks, and the daily references to think tanks in the news media, it is easy to believe they have an important role in influencing policy debates and development of legislation. Think tank directors also credit their own institutes with substantial influence.
Abelson took a hard look at the true influence of think tanks in the U.S. and Canada, and found while some think tanks have played an important role, in many cases, the level of influence was not reflected accurately by the number of headlines they achieve.
“Think tanks are given high prominence by the news media, and by many others who presume that legislators and politicians rely heavily on their work when making decisions,” says Abelson. “That public visibility does not translate into influence.”
Abelson says interestingly – even if they are not influenced by them – many government officials still turn to think tanks and scholars to see what they are thinking. He pointed to the publication Think Tank Watch, distributed by the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. and to Canada Watch, a weekly update published by the Canadian government on research from Canadian think tanks and universities.
Abelson originally published Do Think Tanks Matter? in 2002, with the newly revised and updated edition of the book including up-to-date data that reflects the changes in stature and influence of think tanks. Abelson’s book is also being translated into Arabic and Chinese.
