The new networks of knowledge : think tanks and the transnationalization of governance

More often than not, studies of thinks tanks have addressed their role in society and politics at the nation-state level. This neglects an increasingly important component of think tank activity. These organizations are fast building regional and international networks. While think tank networks are not new, over the past two decades the scale and density of exchange within these networks has mounted significantly and include a more globally diverse range of organizations. It is worthwhile to distinguish between firstly, think tank networks and secondly, policy networks in which think tanks are only one type of actor. Think tank networks are composed of research institutes and policy centres that are organizationally similar in structure and general objectives. Such networks exclude other non-state actors such as NGOs, private firms and professional associations. By contrast, ‘policy network’ is a conceptual category to describe co-ordinated patterns of interaction to inform or make policy at local, national and transnational levels..