Jim DeMint by Gage Skidmore. Flickr. Some rights reserved.Think tanks are often blasted by commentators on the political left for being front groups in the service of hidden corporate interests that work to undermine democracy and the will of the people – it is time to debunk this. If we care about democracy, we should keep a close eye on think tanks – not as simplistic caricatures, but as the complex – and sometimes contradictory – organizations that they really are. Below are seven common misperceptions about think tanks.
1. Think tanks are secretive organisations that operate in the shadows
Not true. Out of 27 British policy research institutions assessed for Transparify’s 2017 think tank ratings, 17 are financially transparent. Indeed, nine out of the ten largest UK think tanks disclose who funds them.
The majority of large policy research institutions in the US and several other countries also disclose who funds them and indicate how much each donor gives. There is a clear global trend towards greater transparency.
