When entering the foyer of the headquarters of the Heritage foundation, one of the most prestigious think tanks in the world, the first thing one sees is the shield of the foundation accompanied by the motto “Ideas have consequences.” The founders of this institution, like the founders of other think tanks, believed that human progression and the resolution of social problems would depend on the systematic generation of new ideas.

Close to one hundred years after the founding of the first institutions of social and economic investigation (Russel Sage Foundation, National Bureau of Economic Research, Brookings Institute) it appears that the hard work of a number of philanthropists, economists and politicians has spread through the majority of the developed world. Although no official data exists, it is calculated that there are 1500 think tanks in existence worldwide, 1200 of those situated in the United States of America.

The first think tanks emerged with the intention of introducing new knowledge to the field of social science in the management of public matters. Those responsible believed that the application of methods of scientific analysis to economics or sociology would aid in the resolution of issues generated by urban development, population growth or economic growth.

Their expectations were not completely fulfilled however they were successful in introducing the concept of think tanks as constituting a useful tool for the participation of civil society in the public sphere and aid in the management of the knowledge needed to make decisions regarding political, economic and social issues. Evidently some of these think tanks could be used as pressure tools of the political and economic elite allowing them to exert greater influence. However the presence of think tanks is for the benefit of society, provided they abide by the rules of the free market of information.

The term think tank, which has been translated to Spanish as “laboratorio de ideas”, finds its origins in the Second World War.  In American military jargon, think tanks were the departments of ministries and government agencies that investigated military matters and public policy for implementation after the War. These experts came from different fields such as armaments, science, economics, public administration and international relations and worked secretly, their functions unknown to ordinary staff.

After the war, some of the organizations continued to work and slowly the term think tank became standardized such that the term is still utilized to refer to institutions researching economic and public policy. More concretely, the term was generalized in the 1960s when it was used to refer to one of the most powerful think tanks in the world, the RADN Cooperation. Born in the American Ministry of Defense, today this institution studies social and political matters and has a team of over 500 researchers.

But not all think tanks share the same characteristics. There are some with limited size and resources, and thus for this reason it is difficult to define a true think tank from an organization that is not. In the last few years, as the term became increasingly popular, many organizations in the political and economic environment have been called think tanks. Although no agreement exists amongst scientific communities regarding the definition of think tanks, there are some clear characteristics. For example, think tanks centre their activities and investigations upon economic and public policy questions with the objective of assisting the government to function in the most efficient way possible.

In principal, think tanks try to maintain an organic and ideological independence. There is however an exception to this rule, partisan think tanks, those which give ideas and programs to political parties and work to train and form future political leaders and governments. This is the case of the Fabian Society in the United Kingdom, a vehicle for the Labor Party, the Konrad Adenaur Foundation working at the service of the Christian Democrats or in Spain, the Faes Foundation, providing political arguments for the Popular party. These are the best known examples; however even these think tanks work with a spirit of independence.

The independence of a think tank is the feature defining it from a lobby, an area that has grown greatly with respect to public relations activities. Think tanks serve the general interest, not ideological affiliates or structural dependants of certain groups.

The final characteristic of a think tank is that they are research centers that intend to serve as a bridge between the academic community and public administration. They develop operative investigations between the long term work of universities and day to day management of public authorities.  Some authors have pointed out that think tanks are research brokers that put in contact the results of research with the needs of public policies. Or in other words, think tanks have become the mediators of the political ideas marketplace.

Influence of think tanks

The supporters of think tanks affirm that their proposals have exercised a great influence on the evolution of political and economic ideas in developed nations since the Second World War. According to them, John F. Kennedy developed his program The New Frontier because of active intervention from experts at the Brookings Institute. Equally, in their opinion, a good part of the principles of economic policy of Ronald Regan were inspired by the initiatives of entities like the Heritage Foundation or American Enterprise Institute.

Today they defend the idea that one of the principal mentors of the monetarist trend was the Institute of Economic Affairs, established in Great Britain in 1955 to extend free market philosophy between scientists and businessmen. Supposedly this think tank together with the centre for Policy Studies and the Adam Smith Institute guided the politics of Margaret Thatcher and the British Conservatives in relevant issues such as privatization, the liberalization of markets, growth in the competency or labor reforms. For example during the nineteen eighties the Adam Smith Institute developed the Omega Project which aimed to implement the privatization of public companies not only in the United Kingdom but throughout the whole world.  A simple examination of the current economic policies of many states proves the success obtained by defenders of the privatization model.

Today, together with Non-Government Organizations, think tanks have become great encouraging forces for public debate. Their presence in many states, with the exception of the United States and the United Kingdom where they are already established is proof of their success. Their work in investigating and promoting political ideas gives the opportunity for democratizing the public space and prevent the public space from being dominated b y social elites and mass media.