TTCSP Publications

Welcome to the TTCSP publications page. TTCSP produces a number of publications that explore the major trends in public public policy and the operational and strategic challenges facing the policy community with a special focus on public policy research, analysis and engagements institutions (often referred to as think tanks). The prominent publication is the Global Go To Think Tank Index which has been published annually since 2006. Six of the TTCSP publications are the most frequently downloaded works on the ScholarlyCommons website at the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to the Index, TTCSP produces reports on various international think tank summits hosted by TTCSP and partner think tanks, including the Global, Africa, Europe, Latin America, MENA, Central and Eastern Europe and North America Think Tank Summits. In addition, the TTCSP publishers reports on annual think tank forums in China and India and on issues such as the impact of artificial intelligence on think tanks, governance and public policy, the sustainability of African think tanks and alternative facts and policy research. Also listed here are a number of Dr. James McGann’s articles and books on think tanks. His scholarship has contributed immensely to the study of think tanks.

The Go To Index is the most comprehensive ranking of think tanks in the world, and is published annually by Dr. McGann and the TTCSP team. Dr. McGann invites representatives from countries and think tanks all over the world to participate in his ranking process, which ultimately culminates in the production of his index. With the help of over 225 research interns year round, Dr. McGann updates and maintains a database of over 8,000 think tanks, many of which are featured in the Go To Index.

Reports from think tank summits, and the more recent Global Think Tank Town Halls to Save Lives and Livelihoods, provide an overview of the topics discussed at each event. The reports on the Global Think Tank Town Halls summarize and synthesize policy recommendations from think tanks, shedding light on the role that think tanks can play in the current battle against COVID-19.

Past Publications

For past summit reports, please look here.

Published Books

Select a book to learn about purchase information.

Featured

Global Think Tanks: Policy Networks and Governance

This completely revised edition of Global Think Tanks: Policy Networks and Governance provides a clear description of, and context for, the global proliferation of think tanks.

Think Tanks and Civil Societies

In Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action, scholars James G. McGann and R. Kent Weaver collect the insights of the world's leading think-tank researchers in a comprehensive look at the role of policy analysts and advocacy organizations in international decision-making.

Comparative Think Tanks, Politics and Public Policy

Examining the role of think tanks in the policy formulation process, this groundbreaking study provides the first systematically comparative and methodologically rigorous map of such organizations and the social, political, legal and economic conditions that shape their work.

Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance

Global Think Tanks provides a clear description of and context for the global proliferation of think tanks. Whilst these institutions are still relatively new players in global and national politics, they are becoming a significant source of strength in an increasingly transnational and less Western-led world.

International Organization and Global Governance

The book comprises fifty-four chapters arranged in seven parts and woven together by a comprehensive introduction to the field, along with separate introductions to each part to guide students and faculty, and helpful pointers to further reading.

How Think Tanks Shape Social Development Policies

Across the globe, there are more than four thousand policy institutes, or think tanks, that research or advocate for economic and social development. Yet the relationship between these organizations and the policies they influence is not well understood.

Security Expertise - Practice and Responsibilities

This volume brings together scholars from different fields to explore the power, consequences and everyday practices of security expertise.

Think Tanks and SDGs

Think tanks have the ability to play a key role in the ongoing discourse by providing analysis and advice on the effects of SDGs and the best means to execute them.

Handbook of Public Policy Formulation

This Handbook represents a pioneering effort to consolidate the state of knowledge on policy formulation. An invaluable resource for scholars and students of policy studies, this Handbook provides a set of analytical discussions that help scholars, students and practitioners better understand the multiple dimensions of what policy formulation has come to mean in contemporary public policy-making and governance.

The Fifth Estate

What role do think tanks play in shaping public policy and public discourse in the United States? In The Fifth Estate: Think Tanks, Public Policy, and Governance, James G. McGann illustrates how policymakers have come to value the independent analysis and advice provided by think tanks and why it has become one of the defining characteristics of the American political system.

Articles

For think tanks, it’s either innovate or die, Washington Post, 2015

The Global "Go-To Think Tanks”: The Leading Public Policy Research Organizations in the World, 2007 (24 pages, 265K)
Think Tank Network Publications (14 pages, 79K)
NGO Pushback: The Use of Legal and Extralegal Means to Constrain Think Tanks & Civil Society Organizations (15 pages), 2008
Development of Think Tanks and Their Role as Catalysts for Ideas and Actions in the U.S. Political System, Briefing by James McGann for the Foreign Press Center, U.S. Department of State, February 28, 2006.
Development of Think Tanks and Their Role as Catalysts for Ideas and Actions in the U.S. Political System, Briefing by James McGann for the Foreign Press Center, U.S. Department of State, February 28, 2006.
Raw Power Shift and the NGO Credibility Crisis James McGann and Mary Johnstone. published in the Brown Journal of World Affairs, Winter/Spring 2005.
Think Tanks in Europe and the U.S., converging or diverging?, Morgan Lahrant and Stephen Boucher. Report based on the seminar organized in Paris, December 13, 2004, with Dr. James McGann and Stephen Boucher.
Scholars, Dollars and Policy Advice (351K) James G. McGann, Ph.D. Published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, August 2004.
Responding to 9/11: Are Think Tanks Thinking Outside the Box?, James G. McGann, Ph.D. Published by the Foreign Policy Research Institute, July 31, 2003.
Think Tanks and the Transnationalization of Foreign Policy, James McGann, Ph.D. Foreign Policy Research Institute E-Notes, December 16, 2002

Think Tanks and Policy Advice in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2008
Think Tanks and Policy Advice in the Middle East, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2006
Think Tanks and Policy Advice in Asia, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2006
Think Tanks and the Political Transformation of Germany, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2006
Think Tanks, Political Parties and Policy Advice in Mexico, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2005
National Interest vs. Regional Governance: Think Tanks, Policy Advice and the Future of the EU, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2005
The European Union: A Bridge Too Far or a Failure of Think Tanks and Policy Advice in Europe?, Foreign Policy Research Institute, 2005
Think Tanks in Britain and US, 2002
Think Tanks and Transnational Security Threats, 2002
Think Tanks and Civil Societies: Catalysts for Ideas and Action, 2000
An International Survey of Think Tanks, Foreign Policy Research Institute, August 1999. This in-depth study of public policy research organization provides a global, regional and national overview of think tanks. 817 think tanks from 98 countries participated in this international study that was funded by National Institute for Research Advancement in Japan.
The Competition for Dollars, Scholars and Influence in the Public Policy Research Industry. A comparative study of independent public policy research organizations in America. University Press of America, November 1994.
How Think Tanks Are Coping With the Future, November-December 2000. The Futurist.
Thinking about the Future of Think Tanks, Foreign Policy Research Institute, August 1999. An article that outlines the major trends in think tanks and public policy research in United States.
Catalysts for Ideas and Action, published in Foreign Policy magazine, Spring 1998. Examines the role of think tanks in policy making process in civil societies around the globe.
Think Tanks and the Power of the Purse, October 18, 1997. Published by Foreign Policy Research Institute, August 1998. Discusses changes in funding for think tanks and the challenge it poses for domestic and international think tanks.
Are Development Agencies Becoming an Endangered Species? published in InterAction Monday Developments newsletter, November 20, 1995. Discusses the challenges facing NGOs working in the field of development. Also published in Middle East Economic Research Forum, May 1998
Public Policy Research Organizations In The United States, Think Tank Landscapes: Germany And The United States, German Academic Exchange Service, (DAAD), 1993. Compares and contrast the think tank landscape in the United States with Germany.
The Think Tank Landscape in the United States, 1993
Academics to Ideologues: A Brief History of the Public Policy Research Industry. Published in Political Science and Politics, December 1992. Examines the history and evolution of think tanks in the United States and discusses the rise of issue-oriented, partisan and ideological think tanks and their impact on policy making.