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Think Tanks in America

Thomas Medvetz author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:The University of Chicago Press

Published:21st Mar '14

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Think Tanks in America cover

Over the past half-century, think tanks have become fixtures of American politics, supplying advice to presidents and policy makers, expert testimony on Capitol Hill, and convenient facts and figures to journalists and media specialists. But what are think tanks? Who funds them? What kind of "research" do they produce? Where does their authority come from? And how influential have they become? In Think Tanks in America, Thomas Medvetz argues that the curious ambiguity of the think tank is not an accidential feature of its existence, but the very key to its impact. By combining elements of more established sources of public knowledge-universities, government agencies, businesses, and the media-think tanks exert tremendous influence on the way citizens and lawmakers perceive the world and construct policy, unbound by the more clearly defined institutions they draw on and mimic. In the process, they have transformed the government of this country, the press, and the political role of intellectuals. Timely, succinct, and instructive, this provocative book will force us to rethink our understanding of the drivers of political debate in the United States and beyond.

"I agree with Thomas Medvetz that think tanks have changed America." (Forbes)"

ISBN: 9780226143668

Dimensions: 23mm x 17mm x 2mm

Weight: 510g

344 pages