Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise

Extract

Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise. By Andrew Rich. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 270p. $65.00.

Scholars and parishioners interested in public policy and the nature and quality of decision making in Washington will find Andrew Rich's first book to be an interesting and valuable contribution to the field. While the book focuses on an often-overlooked set of institutions—public policy research organizations—it also explores the current state of policy advice in Washington. These independent, nonprofit organizations have served our nation well by conducting research, analysis, and debate on a wide range of complex public policy issues. Thinks tanks such as the Brookings Institution, the Heritage Foundation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and the RAND Corporation have helped shape the thinking of policymakers for almost a century. Rich contends that their unique role in the policymaking process is now in peril, and he sets out to document how the sea change that has taken place in American politics is reflected in the changing dynamics in the policymaking community in Washington.