Abstract
Global Think Tanks attempts to offer an account of the emergence of global think tanks (GTT) and policy networks (PN) in the international arena while providing ‘a primer and a roadmap for global public policy practitioners, participants, and the interested public’ (p. 1). To achieve this goal, McGann and Sabatini first discuss the role of GTT and PN in the policy-making process, which includes producing research on policy problems, providing policy advice, evaluating governmental programmes, interpreting policies and events, promoting the exchange of ideas and supplying personnel to governments (pp. 17–9). The authors further draw from the US experience and delve into the social and political factors contributing to the emergence of GTT and PN before assessing the challenges and opportunities for GTT and PN with real examples.
The book does, however, move beyond sheer description of GTT and PN. For the authors, GTT and PN are not only crucial in bridging between policy makers, the media and the general public, but they also serve as ‘catalysts for political reform’ or ‘indicators for the state of civil society’ (pp. 4–6). Moreover, contrary to national governments, GTT and PN are more adaptive to the changing and complicated policy-making process in globalisation. Although they inevitably face challenges regarding their independence against funding and Western influence, the authors still argue that GTT and PN can improve global public policy (ch. 4). Their optimism about the growing impact of GTT and PN is expressed through their encouragement of how to bring together policy makers and these new institutions (ch. 6).
As an empirical work, Global Think Tanks is clearly a pioneering attempt to tackle the emerging global governance institutions. However, the overwhelming stress on what GTT and PN are potentially capable of without examining the constraining factors may lead readers to overestimate the role of GTT and PN. It would have been more interesting had the book reviewed how GTT and PN respond to challenges. Further, although more case studies may be needed to assess the real impact of GTT and PN on specific policy issues, the discussion on selected cases of GTT and PN predominantly centres on describing their constitutions and roles. Therefore, this book's argument seems somewhat unconvincing in its empirical grounding.