Abstract
This book examines the broad Australian think tank industry. It does not exclusively isolate any think tank sub-sector (such as right-leaning institutes) or any particular policy issue. It seeks to explain the role and influence of think tanks in Australia and provide insights into how they attempt to influence policy, when they seek to exert influence, who they target, and the broader perceptions of their usefulness and effectiveness. Across three nested research strands, the study incorporates data from one-hundred-and-eighty-six expert survey responses, one-hundred-and-eight semi-structured interviews, attendance at forty-three live think tank events, the consumption of two-hundred-and-fourteen podcasts, the viewing of fifty think tank YouTube videos, and the scrutiny of a legion of research reports and social media activity. The data indicate that public policy institutes are well versed in the art of persuasion. The study shows that many think tanks not only have the capacity to influence policymaking, but the three institutes examined in the separate case studies have demonstrably exerted influence on policy settings (in varying degrees and manifestations). The research also demonstrates how this influence is achieved.
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Notes
- 1.
This book uses the broad terms ‘left-leaning’ and ‘right-leaning’ to identify those think tanks with discernible left and right philosophical orientations.
- 2.
The terms ‘think tanks’ and ‘public policy institutes’ are used interchangeably throughout this publication.
- 3.
- 4.
For example, the Centre for Independent Studies states that it produces ‘valuable research that has shaped and influenced public policy’; The Australia Institute insists it is ‘one of the country’s most influential think tanks’; the Committee for Economic Development of Australia asserts that ‘we influence policy and collaborate to disrupt for good’; the Lowy Institute declares it ‘helps set the national agenda’; the Australian Fabians ‘influence political and public thinking’; while the Institute of Public Affairs suggests it is at the forefront of ‘defining the contemporary political landscape’. See CEDA (2021), CIS (2021), Fabians (2021), IPA (2021), Lowy (2021), and TAI (2021a).
- 5.
Chapter 3 specifically defines these terms.
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Hagland, T. (2023). Think Tanks in Australia. In: Think Tanks in Australia. Interest Groups, Advocacy and Democracy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27044-4_1
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