Independence and Ideology of Think Tanks in Foreign and Security Policy: a Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This paper presents the results of an empirical research focused on the ideological behavior of think tanks, especially those centered on foreign and security policies.      A sample of 25 European, 27 American and 34 Spanish think tanks were selected  from 228 think tanks that are globally considered the most important, according to    the program Think Tanks and Civil Societieswhich was led by Dr. James G. McGann from Pennsylvania University and the Spanish Directory of International and Strategic Centers in 2007. The selected think tanks study, produce and debate ideas related to foreign and security policies; and are characterized as independent or neutral centers. Their apparent ideological neutrality is not exempt from beliefs and values that could lead to political behavior, which can acquire an ideological essence in the political environment and, that is worth further study. As a result, this paper proposes a model of comparative ideological behavior of the aforementioned institutions for the Spanish, American and European cases.