2014-global-go-to-think-tank-index-22012015_1

Finally, in a global market place of ideas, think tanks need to develop national, regional, and
global partnerships while creating new and innovative platforms to deliver their products and
services to an ever-expanding audience of citizens, policymakers, and businesses around the
world.
2014 Trends in Think Tanks and Policy Advice
Major Findings
Think tanks have become more active players in domestic and foreign policy in the last two
decades and are now present in 182 countries. While think tanks continue to be concentrated in
the United States and Western Europe, several factors are driving the growth of think tanks in
other areas of the world.
Mega Trends
I. Globalization: Knowledge is increasingly an international commodity that spans physical and
metaphysical boundaries. Globalization is unquestionably one of the most profound and
powerful trends that continually shapes and drives the flow of technology, resources, knowledge,
people, values, and ideas. The growth of the knowledge-based economy has led to competition
among such knowledge-based institutions worldwide for the best ideas and people. New
technologies have leveled the global playing field in a way that challenges established powers
and elite institutions around the world. There are now 2 billion people who have access to the
Internet in every region of the world, and the number of Internet users and mobile phone
subscribers is growing steadily across all regions. 8 While the Internet facilitates the
dissemination of information (thereby allowing more competition among think tanks), the sheer
increase in the volume of knowledge can at times make it more difficult to find verified, highquality
information.
While globalization has increased competition, it has also broken down cultural barriers. Trade,
technology, finance, and the media make globalization possible – the so-called “knitting needles”
of globalization, given their unique capacity to enable and propel that process. The imperative
that drives globalization is the need that all states have to create new markets, secure critical
resources, acquire new information and technology, and address critical transnational threats. As
Martell notes, “National differences have become less marked as people consume culture from
around the world rather than being so dependent on that of their own nation. This is facilitated
[...] by global electronic communications such as the internet, globalized TV broadcasts,
migration, and tourism.” 9
8 Khaltarkhuu, Buyant E., and Frederico Escaler. "The Fast Changing World of Information and
Communications Technology." Open Data. June 27, 2013. Accessed October 18, 2013.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/fast-changing-world-information-and-communications-technology.
9 Martell, Luke. "The third wave in globalization theory." International Studies Review 9, no. 2 (2007):
173-196.
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