Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise. By
Andrew Rich. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 270p. $65.00.
Scholars and parishioners interested in public policy and the nature
and quality of decision making in Washington will find Andrew Rich's
first book to be an interesting and valuable contribution to the field.
While the book focuses on an often-overlooked set of
institutions—public policy research organizations—it also
explores the current state of policy advice in Washington. These
independent, nonprofit organizations have served our nation well by
conducting research, analysis, and debate on a wide range of complex
public policy issues. Thinks tanks such as the Brookings Institution, the
Heritage Foundation, the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
and the RAND Corporation have helped shape the thinking of policymakers
for almost a century. Rich contends that their unique role in the
policymaking process is now in peril, and he sets out to document how the
sea change that has taken place in American politics is reflected in the
changing dynamics in the policymaking community in Washington.