U.S. Government and Defense Contractors Fund Top 50 Think Tanks
Center for International Policy. - Transparency Initiative
By BEN FREEMAN
Despite largely flying under the public’s radar, think tanks have long played a critical role in shaping United States (U.S.) public policy. Yet, most Americans outside the Washington establishment have little, if any, understanding of what a think tank is or does. Think tanks conduct in-depth research on public policy, help write laws, testify before Congress, are a go-to source for media on political issues of the day, serve as springboards for future gov- ernment officials, and give former government officials a channel to express their views.
Think tanks vary considerably in terms of their objectives and organization, but many think tanks in Washington D.C. share a common trait: they receive substantial financial support from the U.S. government and private businesses that work for the U.S. government, most notably defense contractors. In a variety of instances, the public has learned that this fund- ing can significantly influence the work of think tanks. It can lead to a think tank producing reports favorable to a funder, think tank experts offering Congressional testimony in sup- port of a funder’s interests, or its scholars working closely with a funder’s lobbyists.1
Yet, we only have anecdotal examples of the impact U.S. government and defense contrac- tor capital has on think tanks for a simple reason: think tanks are not required to publicly disclose their funding sources. Without a legal requirement for disclosure, many think tanks are reluctant to reveal the full scope of their funding or give details on specific donors. They often fail to mention potential conflicts of interest in their published reports or commentary, and think tank experts often fail to report on their organization’s financial ties to the U.S. government and defense contractors when testifying before Congress. Hiding these poten- tial conflicts of interest leaves the public and policymakers with the impression that they’re hearing from a truly objective expert, when in fact they may be listening to someone that is, effectively, funded by the Department of Defense or a weapons contractor.
In an effort to move towards greater transparency of think tank funding in America, this report analyzes U.S. government and defense contractor funding at the top fifty think tanks in America, as ranked by the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go To Think Tank Index, based on criteria like the quality and reputation of the think tank’s research and the reach of its publications.2 The analysis includes all U.S. government and defense contractor funding received by these think tanks from 2014-2019. The data collected for this analysis comes primarily from think tanks’ publicly available information, supplemented by media reports of funding not publicly disclosed by think tanks themselves, and through voluntary disclosure. Continue Reading ………
