If the purveyors of the ‘flat world’ are to be believed, ideas matter — no matter where they are generated. The increasingly non-hierarchical nature of the technology-driven world — which according to this theory flattens extant inconsistencies and inequalities at a faster rate than it so apparently seems to be generating, will ensure that ideas, creativity and innovation will not be the sole preserve of the select few but of a ‘wider proletariat’. Think tanks by their very definition are in the select business of thinking ‘out of the box’ on the specific issues they deal with. The enormous growth of these public policy institutions is captured by the latest survey of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Programme (TTCSP) of the University of Pennsylvania.
The TTCSP has since 2007 been engaged in the process of ranking best-performing public policy institutions based on such criteria as the impact and relevance of their research output. The 2010 ranking, which was released in New York on January 18, considered a universe of 5,491 think tanks which were nominated by peer groups and experts, including academic institutions and journalists, out of a total of 6,480 such institutions functioning worldwide.
The US-based Brookings Institution is once again on top of the honours list, as it was the previous year, across a range of categories including health policy, security and international affairs, domestic and international economic policy, social policy, and international development. It is also the think tank adjudged to possess the most innovative policy ideas, make best use of the media and the internet to engage the public, and having an “outstanding policy-oriented public policy research programme.” Chatham House, London, was adjudged the best among non-US think tanks.
The report points out that North America and Europe account for the largest number of think tanks in the world, at 1,913 and 1,757 respectively. These make up 30 and 27 per cent of the world’s total. Asia is not too far behind, with 1,200 think tanks, for a share of 18 per cent. This is an improvement from 12 per cent in 2007, the initial year in which the survey was conducted. The share of think tanks operating in Africa also increased, from about 5 per cent in 2007 to 8 per cent currently. Among Asian countries, China has 425 think tanks, followed by India (292), Japan (103), Taiwan (52) and South Korea (35). It is worth noting that China had only 73 think tanks in 2007, compared to India’s 122. In 2009, the Chinese number suddenly shot up to 428. India’s think tanks also more than doubled, to 261 in 2009. Overall, countries with 100 or more think tanks include Japan, Russia, Argentina, France, Germany, the UK, India, China and the US.
The growth of think tanks in general seems to be an indication (apart from the Chinese case, of course) of the general level of debate and openness existing in a society. The survey notes that the spurt in the proliferation of think tanks corresponds to the enormity of developmental and governance challenges and the imperative need for ‘expert’ opinion to buttress governmental frameworks. If think tanks are the “bridge between knowledge and power” — as defined by the United Nations Development Programme — it is a reality that there is a lot of the bridge to cover in some of these countries.
In the current survey, among the top 25 think tanks in Asia, Indian and Chinese think tanks occupy five positions each. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) occupy the top two slots, followed by the Delhi-based Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA). Other Indian think tanks that figure in the rankings include the Centre for Policy Research (10), Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies (18), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (23) and the Liberty Institute (25). There are three institutions each from Japan and Singapore in the top 25, two each from Indonesia, South Korea and Australia, and one each from Taiwan, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
Earlier surveys cited the information revolution, end of governments’ monopoly on information (the ‘Wikileaks’ expose even seems to suggest the end of the government monopoly on ‘secret’ information), the inexorable march of globalisation, and the complex and technical nature of policy problems among reasons for the growth in the number of think tanks. Those think tanks which can continue to be “lean, mean, policy machines”, it seems, will be most efficient in bridging the knowledge-power gap.
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This is especially so in a country like India, with enormous developmental and strategic policy challenges coupled with institutional deficiencies. Analysts for instance have pointed to the “demand-supply disjuncture” and the “promise-reality gap” in the study and teaching of international studies in India. The Report of the Workshop on International Studies in India held at the Lew Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in March 2009 lays out a Vision for India to “be home to world class schools, research institutions, think tanks, and programmes in international studies by 2025.”
There is enormous scope for and need for informed debate and policy input across a range of issues spanning the internal and the international. While governments continue their efforts to balance available means with purported ends, strong public policy institutions can often enhance the range and variety of options that can be brought to bear to tackle an issue or take advantage of opportunities.
While the objectivity of rankings such as the TTCSP’s is open to debate, the larger issue that such a survey highlights — the inescapable role that public policy institutions are increasingly playing in a dynamic world — needs to be noted, pondered and engaged with, especially in an ‘emerging’ country like India.
The author is associate fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Delhi. The views are personal