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Organizational Identity of Think Tank(er)s: A Growing Elite Group in Swedish Civil Society

Author

Listed:
  • Pelle Åberg

    (Center for Civil Society Research, Ersta Sköndal Bräcke University College, Sweden)

  • Stefan Einarsson

    (Department of Management and Organization, Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden)

  • Marta Reuter

    (Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, Sweden)

Abstract

Think tanks, defined as organizations that produce policy research for political purposes (McGann, 2007; Medvetz, 2008), are an increasingly ubiquitous type of policy actor world-wide. In Sweden, the last 20 years’ sharp increase in think tank numbers (Åberg, Einarsson, & Reuter, 2019) has coincided with the decline of the traditional Swedish corporatist model based on the intimate involvement of the so-called ‘popular movements’ in policy-making (Lundberg, 2014; Micheletti, 1995). Contrary to the large, mass-membership based and democratically organized movement organizations, think tanks are small, professionalized, expert-based, and seldom represent any larger membership base. Their increasingly important role as the ideological greenhouses in Swedish civil society might, therefore, be interpreted as an indication of an increasingly elitist and professionalized character of the latter. But what is a think tank? The article explores how a shared understanding of what constitutes a think tank is constructed by think-tankers themselves. In the study, interviewed think tank executives and top-level staff reflect upon their own organizations’ missions and place in the Swedish policy system.

Suggested Citation

  • Pelle Åberg & Stefan Einarsson & Marta Reuter, 2020. "Organizational Identity of Think Tank(er)s: A Growing Elite Group in Swedish Civil Society," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 142-151.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:poango:v:8:y:2020:i:3:p:142-151
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steinmo,Sven, 2010. "The Evolution of Modern States," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521145466.
    2. Steinmo,Sven, 2010. "The Evolution of Modern States," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521196703.
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    Cited by:

    1. Håkan Johansson & Anders Uhlin, 2020. "Civil Society Elites: A Research Agenda," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 82-85.

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