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Merchants of Expertise: Think Tanks in the U.S. Field of Power |
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Abstract:
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The emergence of a distinct think tank sector in the United States marks the creation and legitimation of a new structural location from which a stratum of “hybrid intellectuals” may participate in public debates. The central argument of this paper is that the think tank sphere is both dependent on and subordinate to institutions of political and economic power, and thereby acts as a buffer and an antidote against more independent intellectuals, rendering them superfluous and guaranteeing that academic social science will play a marginal political role. Think tanks are significant not only for what they produce, but also for what they preclude, an effect that is invisible if one looks only at their role in promoting specific policies. The study builds on the contributions of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu by taking the field – i.e., the system of intellectual production in which think tanks compete – rather than the organization, as the basic unit of analysis. |
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tank (165), think (164), polit (73), field (68), intellectu (67), polici (46), studi (38), chapter (37), univers (36), research (33), 1 (31), product (29), institut (28), organ (27), social (25), new (25), american (24), medvetz (24), thoma (24), practic (21), space (21), |
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Association:
Name: American Sociological Association
URL: http://www.asanet.org
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Citation:
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MLA Citation:
| Medvetz, Thomas. "Merchants of Expertise: Think Tanks in the U.S. Field of Power" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal Convention Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Aug 11, 2006 <Not Available>. 2009-05-25 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p104630_index.html> |
APA Citation:
| Medvetz, T. M. , 2006-08-11 "Merchants of Expertise: Think Tanks in the U.S. Field of Power" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal Convention Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Online <PDF>. 2009-05-25 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p104630_index.html |
Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The emergence of a distinct think tank sector in the United States marks the creation and legitimation of a new structural location from which a stratum of “hybrid intellectuals” may participate in public debates. The central argument of this paper is that the think tank sphere is both dependent on and subordinate to institutions of political and economic power, and thereby acts as a buffer and an antidote against more independent intellectuals, rendering them superfluous and guaranteeing that academic social science will play a marginal political role. Think tanks are significant not only for what they produce, but also for what they preclude, an effect that is invisible if one looks only at their role in promoting specific policies. The study builds on the contributions of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu by taking the field – i.e., the system of intellectual production in which think tanks compete – rather than the organization, as the basic unit of analysis. |
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| Document Type: |
PDF |
| Page count: |
24 |
| Word count: |
7626 |
| Text sample: |
| Thomas Medvetz Chapter 1 [Note: What follows is an introductory excerpt from my dissertation “Merchants of Expertise: Think Tanks in the U.S. Field of Power.” My ASA presentation on this material would focus on the themes outlined in the attached abstract. The presentation would draw empirically from the educational and career database described below.] The social organization of political expertise INTRODUCTION In recent decades an expanding breed of policy think tank has become a fixture of public debate in |
| James A. 1991. The Idea Brokers: Think Tanks and the Rise of the New Policy Elite. New York: Free Press. Stone Diane. 2000. “Non-Governmental Policy Transfer: The Strategies of Independent Policy Institutes ” Governance: An International Journal of Policy and Administration Volume 13 Number 1 (Jan): 45-62. ----. 1996. Capturing the Political Imagination: Think Tanks and the Policy Process. London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. Vogel David (1989) Fluctuating Fortunes: The Political Power of Business in America New York: |
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