Describe the role of think tanks and shadow cabinets in the policy process. Be sure to identify two specific think tanks or shadow cabinets and two examples of problems that may arise in the types of policy options they propose. Discuss whether and why you believe that the group-specific work of these organizations is important to U.S. policy formulation.
What will be an ideal response?
Think tanks and shadow cabinets pervade Washington, DC, and the state capitals. Through these organizations, policy professionals and analysts work on contract for government clients, among others. Think tanks identified may include AEI, Heritage Foundation, and Brookings Institution. Problems with obtaining policy options in this manner may be (1) that an agency may be able to guarantee the kind of answer it will receive by its choice of think tank, (2) that as the result of repeated interaction with the bureaucracy, think tanks may believe that they have to give the agency the answers that it wants to hear, and (3) that ethics in judgment questions may arise as think tanks struggle between boundaries between loyalty to the truth and loyalty to the organization. The final portion/question in this essay requires student justification.
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