Think Tanks: Nature, Complexion and Role
| DOI | 10.1177/0019556120160201 |
| Date | 01 April 2016 |
| Published date | 01 April 2016 |
| Author | P.K. Chaubey |
| Subject Matter | Article |
THINK
TANKS: NATURE, COMPLEXION AND
ROLE
P.
K.
CHAUBEY
If
a State
is
governed
by
the principles
of
reason, (then) poverty
and
misery are subjects
of
shame;
if
a State is
not
governed
by the principles
of
reason, (then) riches
and
honours are the
subjects
of
shame.
-Confucius as quoted by Henry David Thoreau in his
Resistance to Civil Government.
INTRODUCTION
WHILE RELEASING
in
June 2014 a book Getting India
Back
on
Track:
An
Action
Agenda
for
Reforms edited by Bibek Debroy, Ashley Tellis and
Reece Trevor and published by a reputed American think tank Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
underscored the need for enhancing the input
of
intellectual think tanks
in India's policy framework. It was commented in press that the remark
gives an impression that Indian policy-making process receives little
input from the community
of
think tanks while they are quite influential
elsewhere. In press reports there was a division on sectors in which
research inputs into policy making was substantial or was minimal, but
with no clear-cut answer.
We
do not wish to settle this issue. In fact, there
is
little appreciation among intelligentsia, academia and policy circles
about what think tanks are, what they do, how they are different from
other intellectual outfits, and so on.
This article proposes to discuss nature, complexion and role
of
think
tanks
as
well
as
their funding patterns, in gener:al, and what they are likely
to
end up within India around this time and in near future. The auther also
discusses their history
in
terms
of
origin and spread, geographical dispersal,
the organisational structure, role and activities, the relationship vis-:a-vis
the State generally and sub-State governments as well as supra-State
governance structures, and finally their economics in terms
of
financing
of
their activities.
210
I
INDIAN
JOURNAL
OF
PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION
VOL.
LXII,
NO.
2,
APRIL-JUNE
2016
History
of
Think Tanks
There is a lot
of
controversy about the time
of
emergence and
nomenclature
of
think tanks. While some scholars locate
it
in
the 19th
Century, others are happy to report emergence
of
such organisations only
around and after World
War
IL
Some scholars like Mohan Guruswamy
(2014) gives that credit to John
F.
Kennedy who called a group
of
liberal
intellectuals as a think tank with whom he enjoyed dinner meetings
in
the White House
in
early 1960s.
In
the US, there
is
a long tradition
of
shuttling
of
intellectuals and policy wonks between academia and the state
paraphernalia.
The Franklin Institute established in 1824
is
recognised by some
scholars
as
the oldest think tank. It was established originally to honour a
polymath Benjamin Franklin, one
of
the founding fathers
of
the US and
known for invention
of
lightning rod, and to advance usefulness
of
his
inventions
of
mechanical arts and
it
calls itself a centre for science education
and research.
It
may not strictly fall
in
the category
of
think tanks as it does
not play any acti".e role
in
policy making. But the Royal United Services
Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI) founded
in
1831
is
found
missing
in
many historical accounts
of
think tanks while it earned Think
Tank
of
the Year Award by a London based magazine called Prospect
in
2008. Yet, it
is
suggested
in
the beginning
of
the century that 3/4th
of
all
think tanks around the world came up after 1970 and a half
of
them after
1980.
We
can now settle for the figure of3/4th to 4/5th as many think tanks
have emerged post-perestroika and glasnost.
The phrase 'think tank' came into use in 1950s in current usage,
replacing earlier phrases 'brain boxes' or 'brain trusts' occasionally used
but organisations and institutions that played the roles expected
of
'think
tanks' today had come into existence,
it
is
contemplated, since
long-at
least in the early I 9th Century in Europe
and
in the early 20th Century in
the US. Among them are counted Fabian Society (1884)
in
the UK and
Brookings Institution ( 1916)
in
the US. This kind
of
dominant assertion
in circulation seems to care little about
history-European,
American or
Indian-from
renaissance to the 19th Century. Academies and societies
played a great role in influencing thinking
of
the States and societies
in
many European countries including Britain, France and Germany. For
example, Royal Society
(of
London for Improving Natural Knowledge),
coming into being
as
it did
in
about 1660 with a royal charter, receives grant
today from the British government and acts as a scientific advisor to the
British government, besides being UK's Academy
of
Sciences.
It
had its
predecessors too under the wings
of
scientists like Francis Bacon. French
academies in I 8th Century played very similar
roles--0f
course, at times
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