Panel discussion on think tanks in the US and Germany

GPPi Associate Director Thorsten Benner moderated a debate on think tanks and political consulting in the US and Germany. The discussion, ​“Think Tanks Made in Germany. Political Consulting in Germany and the US,” was held at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin on June 26. The event was part of the annual Berlin conference of the McCloy Scholarship Program, a fellowship run by the German National Merit Foundation that each year allows a group of 6 – 8 young Germans to start a two-year program at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Panelists included Pia Bungarten (Director, Division for International Dialogue, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung), Heinrich Kreft (Deputy Head of the Policy Planning Staff, German Foreign Office), and Volker Perthes (designated director of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik/​SWP). Christiane Neumann, managing director of the Hertie School of Governance, which co-sponsored the event, welcomed the participants.

Pia Bungarten explained how party affiliated political foundations are an original German contribution to the think tank world. These foundations supported democratization early on (in Spain and Portugal) and as such they are the ​“original regime changers.” She described the roles of German political foundations as ​“mediators in an in a globalizing world.”

Heinrich Kreft, who spent time at two Washington think tanks before assuming his current position with the Foreign Policy Planning Staff in Berlin, brought in a comparative perspective by analyzing the ​“think tank industry” in the US. He pointed out two defining characteristics of this very competitive and dynamic environment for think tanks: First, there is a ​“revolving door” between think tanks, government, and the private sector which guarantees a constant exchange of experience between think tanks and the ​“real world”. Second, this environment creates a pool of media savvy policy experts who publish op-eds and appear on CNN. The think tank market is very competitive and hardly any position (however extreme or absurd) is missing in the marketplace of ideas and ideologies.

Volker Perthes reflected on the experience of the SWP in a changing capital. Perthes stressed that both sides (the SWP and its ​“customers”) are more open in Berlin as compared to the ​“Bonn Republic” when the SWP was located in the picturesque Bavarian countryside. The SWP is an independent think tank and, as such, takes up suggestions and impulses from parliament and the executive branch but does not do commissioned reports. The SWP is therefore able to shape its own agenda by also tackling strategic questions beyond the issues the current government holds to be important.

The questions from the audience revolved around the international and policy orientation of German think tanks. One questioner asked how think tanks can contribute to avoiding a parochial perspective in German political debates. Another participant asked why think tanks often do not address the very practical and important questions of how to actually implement policies. Another question dealt with the issue of the missing polarization of public debates in Germany and stated the need for more ​‘advocacy think tanks’ in Germany.

Finally, the debate tackled the issue of funding: What are the sources of funding for independent think tanks in Germany at a time where both the state and business are cutting back and when foundations are reluctant to sponsor ​‘risk capital’ for new players? What are the consequences of the recent moves of formerly grant-making foundations to transform themselves into ​“think tanks” that spend the money themselves.