当前英国智库在政治决策体系中的位置与作用

Abstract:Although less advanced than that of the U.S.，the current British think tank system is still the most developed in Europe. All of think tanks in the UK can be divided into four categories in accordance with the dimensions of “ideological orientations” and “levels of professional expertise”. Furthermore，the ways and means adopted by British think tanks to exert influence can be summarized in 12 types and grouped into four categories：“direct and long term”，“indirect and long term”，“direct and short term” and “indirect and short term”，based on their intensities and persistence. Matching each of these 12 kinds of ways and means with their specific channels and designated targets of the UK political policy making structure，the author of this paper draws the overall policy influence “roadmap” of British think tanks，which may clarify the exact position and role of think tanks within the British political system in terms of policy making. The Brexit Referendum on June 23rd 2016 has shocked both the British and EU politics. However，the British think tanks will continue to play a role in the EU policymaking and the constructions of policy perceptions and ideas of the whole Europe，because they are already members of EU’s “epistemic community” and “policy community”，and they have been consistently participating in EU policy making process and the coordinative think tank networks that spread over the whole Europe. Currently，there are three particular means that are most frequently and intensively adopted by the British think tanks to exert policy influence：think tank conferences，coordinative think tank networks，and external financial supports. Through an analysis on the 2014-2015 annual review issued by the Royal Institute of International Affairs，details of the operation of these three means can be revealed.

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