Think Tank Industrial Complexities… Posted by Moira Whelan

Both Steve and Matt make some excellent points here about the way the military and defense contractors keep their piece of the pie in the big federal budget.

I’d only disagree with Matt on one point. He says:

if people and firms who profit from high levels of military expenditures want to support think tanks that support high levels of military expenditures they need to identify individuals who genuinely believe that high levels of military expenditures are good and properly. Naturally, people who think that kind of thing tend to be people who have a somewhat paranoid attitude toward foreign countries and who are strongly predisposed to favor aggressive use of military force by the US and our allies alike.

I disagree. In my experience this is not the case at all. Think tanks continue to finance any project that makes money. So for instance, a lot of defense contractors are into the idea of post-conflict reconstruction because it provides lots of opportunity for new business. However, they needed to create the mechanisms to convince DoD and State that it is a good idea to beef up this particular area, so they fund think tanks to research the project, and then point to it and say “See! You need to do this.”

Additionally, wealthier countries, especially those with compulsory military service and a big interest in peacekeeping like Germany or Switzerland, spend a lot of money on defense related products, and in turn, the US is a little skittish about spending money on European defense contractors because they’re…European. Think tanks provide a great place for “Transatlantic Dialogue” projects and such that get the right people in the room funded by interested parties.

I just make this point because think tanks don’t necessarily always develop aggressive war mongering ideas, but the system by with the ideas are developed are of concern. Essentially, you're getting what Matt is really talking about--ideas endorsed by military contractors--and a therefore more limited debate.

One of the greatest examples of money driving (or not driving) ideas is in homeland security. Because under the Bush administration companies have enjoyed a pretty open door relationship with DHS, and because virtually none of the programs have a significant amount of statutory oversight as is often the case with more complicated DoD projects, there is no incentive to fund homeland security projects at think tanks. Sure, they exist, but most of these don’t enjoy the same level of funding that other projects enjoy because homeland security companies don't need think tanks to make their point. Watch in the near future for science and space related projects at think tanks researching environmentally beneficial technologies...and then watch who funds them and you'll see what I'm talking about.

To be fair, most of the heads of the think tanks and academic research centers of this type do actually want to be do-gooders. As a result, they’ll often use the big money, big business projects to finance research on projects they should be working on…like peacekeeping and the like, and it's not like these projects get pushed under the rug. The organization works to promote them the same as any other...at least in my experience.

Another think tank issue to monitor: personnel. As think tanks and academic institutions drain of the newly minted Obama administration officials, will the normal cycle of musical chairs happen and will Bushies take these posts? It would seem to me that regarding this particular administration, it may not be the best idea. Certainly, it wouldn't attract my money if I were a company, as I know these individuals aren't going to be able to do any convincing on my behalf inside the new administration and Congress, but I suppose we'll see. 

Comments

[Peace]

I wonder if the think tanks will lose some of their political power due to the fact the in this current economic crisis the United States cannot afford expansive foreign policy goals that most in the think tank community favors. Also on a side note it appears that NSN or Center for American Progress should do a booklet about how various think tank organizations advocated war against Iraq and the various reasons why they reccomended this disasterous policy.

[JDB]

Moira, good post. I think the days of pie-in-the-sky R&D projects and military adventures are over . . . for the moment.

I do hope that think tanks will do more research and publishing on "bread and butter" defense issues, such as force structures, defense policy, manning, training, etc.

[Fake Miu Miu bags]

If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account

[luxury watches]

I am so with you,rolex watch
luxury watch

[cheap coach bags]

Great comments! You are so nice, man! You never know how much i like'em!

[wholesale cheap lingerie]

Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing.

[FFXIV Gil]

Are you fighting in Final Fantasy XIV for FFXIV Gil or Final Fantasy XIV Gil?
Can you suffer yourself being called newbie in FFXIV Gil game?
Are you seeking unofficial Buy FFXIV Gil cheats or Final Fantasy XIV guides in order to make Final Fantasy XIV Gil faster?
Can you get millions of Cheap FFXIV Gil in one day?
Even if you know how to farm Buy Final Fantasy XIV Gil you have to prepare enough Final Fantasy XIV Power Leveling first to buy height class Final Fantasy XIV Items, to upgrade your Final Fantasy XIV characters.
FF14 Gil Then why not Buy FFXIV Gil from us?
In Final Fantasy XIV it's the fastest way FF14 Gil,for you to get rich. We are online 24 hours a day ready and 7 days one week to power up your FFXIV Gil accounts with FFXIV Gil. Here is the best place for the Final Fantasy XIV Online players to buy your Final Fantasy XIV Gil.
We are the professional website in FFXIV GIL sale.FFXIV GIL here,We are professional FFXIV Power Leveling online. We update price every single day to make sure we are the lowest in the market.(we don't compare price with scam sites which uses unbelievable low price to deceive.)
Our slogan:Cheapest price, Fastest delivery, Best service! Final Fantasy XIV GIL
In the 2 years we are in this field , FFXIV GILbuilt many business with tens of thousands of customers. They are very satisfied with our service.So if you want to get a log of Cheap FFXIV Gil ,no doubt ,come to our website to buy. Our customer service is ready for you on line now!(WWW,GM MMO,COM Sell FFXIV Gil)

[explosion proof light]

Iwiss Electric mainly manufacturer explosion-proof fixed professional light, such as flood light, spotlight, dome lamp, ceiling lamp, full plastic fluorescence light, anti-dazzle light, and low carbon light suppliers.

[ugg boot sale]

Are you seeking unofficial Buy FFXIV Gil cheats or Final Fantasy XIV guides in order to make Final Fantasy XIV Gil faster?
Can you get millions of Cheap FFXIV Gil in one day?

[Pass4sure 650-568]

update price every single day to make sure we are the lowest in the market.(we don't compare price with scam sites which uses unbelievable low price to deceive.)
Pass4sure 642-456
Pass4sure 350-029
Pass4sure PMI-001
Pass4sure 646-364