Think Tanks in Britain and how they influence British Policy on Europe

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1,0, University of Kassel (Gesellschaftswissenschaften - Geschichte Nordmerikas und Großbritanniens), course: Britain and the European integration process, language: English, abstract: ‘The 2007 Survey of Think Tanks‘ states that out of a total of 1198 think tanks in Western Europe, 283 operate from within the United Kingdom.1 This is by far the highest number amongst the member states of the EU. There is a long tradition of think tanks in Britain. Informal groups and individuals were offering political advice since the eighteenth century, maybe earlier.2 In this essay I try to examine some of the major British think tanks that focus on the European Union and their politics concerning the EU. Where possible, I will give evidence on how they actually influenced British policy making in terms of the EU. I will examine the possibilities of how think tanks can influence governments and public opinion and I will summarize some of the criticism on think tanks in general. [...]