eli5-What is a think tank?
In: 6
Much of our scholarship and writing on public policy issues comes out of universities, but universities generally intend to be non-partisan and address issues from a level of academic remove — for example, they’re more likely to respond to how a proposed law would affect the system they study and than they are to write the law they think would be best.
Think tanks are generally half way between a university and a political party. They write articles, white papers, proposed laws, etc., but they do so from a particular political viewpoint and more openly advocate for a particular political outcome than professors would generally feel comfortable doing. They may be generally conservative/progressive or they may push a particular policy agenda — pro business, low tax, libertarian, environmental, LGBT, etc.
The Heritage Foundation is very influential in conservative legal policy, for example, and is generally seen as creating a short list of judges to be considered for Republican appointments to the Supreme Court. On the other side, the Brookings Institute generally advocates for researched backed policies, which tend to lean left in that they’re in favor of government activity to address social and economic problems.
Latest Answers