Rimasti a lungo un fenomeno esclusivamente americano hanno acquisito notorietà presso il grande pubblico europeo nel periodo successivo all’11 settembre 2001, quando chiedendosi chi fossero i reali ispiratori della nuova dottrina geopolitica della ‘guerra preventiva’ ci si è imbattuti in questi organismi.
Ma cos’è un think tank? La professoressa Diane Stone, docente di Studi Internazionali all’università di Warwick (UK), li definisce così: organizzazioni composte da esperti che rimangono fuori dall’arena politica […] create in order to conduct research, generate ideas, knowledge, information and tools with the aim to direct or influence the decision-making process of specific public policies. Today
major American think tanks are made by staff in the order of hundreds of people including researchers, interns, administrators and management with a budget of between 20 and 60 million dollars a year. Inside them are divided into macro areas of study such as 'Economic Policy Studies', 'Foreign and Defense Policy Studies' or 'Social and Political Studies'. Daily
researchers discuss with each other issues of the day and planning activities. The work of individual researchers is made to work on radio and TV, articles in newspapers and journals, preparation of conferences, seminars, and hearings before committees of Congress.
Think tanks have begun to make inroads in the American landscape with the economic crisis of '29, which led to a centralization of powers and functions by Congress to the executive presidency. This led to an immediate request for a significant amount of intellectual capacity in the public and opened its doors to research centers.
So the first models of think tanks, as defined by scholars at the time of the phenomenon as 'universities without students' were born to support the development of the American with scientific criteria and managerial logic, trying to steal the car to public control of political parties, which are considered inefficient and corrupt.
However since the '70s, with the launch of the conservative revolution that will lead to the election of Ronald Reagan, it says a new type of think tank, the so-called 'partisan think tank', featuring support from the open points of ideological connotations.
The old guard of the think tank, for decades synonymous with quality, scrupulous neutrality and social research, is then cornered by the new institutions, less interested in methodological niceties and more to political success and the media coverage.
to think tanks in the United States is officially barred from publicly support a political party or candidate, but you can get around this easily become advocates and promoters of a specific proposal but not the candidates that support it.
fact, if the lobby is of direct concern to obtain legislative changes that favor their interests, the think tank that works but it creates a cultural climate conducive to that change.
benefits data from research to politicians and groups who decide to use their advice in order to gain credibility your scientific point of view are many: the guarantee of a brand that is known and reliable, the remarkable ability to penetrate the media in a central theme of public debate and the low cost compared to the maintenance of a permanent research and analysis.
The crisis of political parties, the increasing personalization of politics, strengthening the powers of the executive and the growing influence of lobbying are the main factors that have contributed to draw a major role for think tanks in the marketplace of ideas of democracy West.
According to official statistics between 1995 and 2000, the presence of the think tank in the U.S. media has increased by 18% between 2000 and 2004, a further 15%. From
exclusively American phenomenon in recent decades, think tanks are starting to establish themselves in Europe, especially within the EU institutions, with little political power and crushed by the very strong national interests and lobbying. Against this difficult background, where every decision requires an exhausting work of negotiations, encourages demand for expert advice, such as those offered by research centers.
In Italy for a long time has never felt the need to develop cultural and research institutions placed outside of universities, government or political parties. In addition, a system of taxation is not comparable to that Anglo-Saxon made it much more difficult to raise funds and finance.
present the morphology of the Italian think tank is always changing, following the uncertain movements of the electoral geography.
Wanting to be a brief history since the 70s, where it opens the way for the creation of research centers that invest on the Economic and Social Studies. But the real explosion of the phenomenon lies in the early '90s, as a result of Tangentopoli and related changes in the political system.
now under the process of personalization of politics every leader has his own small think tank (eg Italianieuropei D'Alema, New Italy Alemanno, Making Future Fini etc.), Although in these cases is more correct to speak of the foundations of political culture.
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