Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action [Hardcover]

James G. McGann (Editor), R. Kent Weaver (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0765800322 | ISBN-13: 978-0765800329 | Publication Date: September 25, 2000 | Edition: First Edition

Government and individual policymakers throughout the developed and developing world face the common problem of bringing expert knowledge to bear in government decision making. Policymakers need understandable, reliable, accessible, and useful information about the societies they govern. They also need to know how current policies are working, as well as possible alternatives and their likely costs and consequences. This expanding need has fostered the growth of independent public policy research organizations, commonly known as think tanks. Think Tanks and Civil Societies analyzes their growth, scope, and constraints, while providing institutional profi les of such organizations in every region of the world.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 617 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers; First Edition edition (September 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765800322
• ISBN-13: 978-0765800329
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,100,593 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Think Tanks Where Philosophers and Kings Meet, November 11, 2001

By 

Loretta Camerdella (Washington DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action (Hardcover)

McGann and Weaver have done a commendable job in advancing our understanding of the role think tanks play in the policy formulation process. This book should be required reading for policy makers and students of public policy alike. Well done, an excellent resource for domestic and international policy wonks who want to know the lay of the land of think tanks at home and abroad. McGann and Weaver outline the historical context and create a clear and comprehensive typology of think tanks. Then they to 29 contributors to provide a world tour of think tanks. The breadth and depth of this book is truly impressive

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thinking around the world, April 3, 2001

By 

Francois Massonat (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action (Hardcover)

McGann and Weaver are two of the leading scholars on think tanks and they have done an excellent job of painting the think tank landscape around the world. Thinks Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalyst for Ideas and Action is a comparative study of public policy research organizations and their role in public policy process around the world that deserves to be read by scholars and practioners alike. I found the regional overview chapters to be particularily informative. This book has a wealth of information in it and will prove to be an inportant reference work on the subject. I recommended it highly for domestic and international donors who support these institutions, policy makers and the media who use their products and pundits and the public who relies on them for ideas and action.