The critics come from both sides of the aisle. The Quincy Institutefounded by Boston Universitys Andrew J. Bacevich, As is appropriate for a think tank named for the Latin word for markets, Mercatus advocates for free-market approaches to public policy, and works with policy experts, lobbyists, and government officials to connect theory with public policy. The organization was originally founded in 1978 in order to monitor the Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords, but has since expanded to include an Americas Watch, an Asia Watch, an Africa Watch, and a Middle East Watch. (Washington, DC) Thanks to a sizable donation by the Ford Foundation, Belfer is now a permanent research center located at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and has expanded to include research in the subjects of science, technology, public policy, the environment, and natural resources. At first, EPIC focused solely on government surveillance and issues having to do with cryptology. Today, Belfer works towards a dual mission of preparing future generations of leaders, and providing leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the most important challenges of security and . other critical issues., (New York, NY) Though the Institute officially refers to itself as independent and non-partisan, many think tank watch groups and media sources have labeled it as Conservative.. They are carpers content with doing nothing, choosing to sit in the bleachers rather than be the quarterback. Washington and Beijing need to explicitly agree on a set of reciprocal, credible reassurance measures that will breathe life back into their original understanding regarding Taiwan. There are two challenges that the Quincy Institute will have to face in attempting to promote ideas that move U.S. foreign policy away from endless war and Tool type. At TheBestSchools.org, we need these tools to determine how well we are doing in attracting and holding visitor traffic---in other words, to determine how influential our website is. The American people deserve a robust foreign policy conversation, but they dont want or need more mindless and thoughtless punches below the belt. But the older of the two famous brothers has held iconoclastic views on foreign policy since the Vietnam War and has made previous donations in support of a less interventionist foreign policy. Originally founded at Rutgers University, Mercatus moved to George Mason University in the mid-1980s after a $30 million donation from Koch Industries, which remains a major source of funding. The Mercatus Center's Peter Boettke ranks on our list of The Top 50 Economists from 1900 to the Present. It has been described as realist and advocating for restraint in U.S. foreign policy. (Arlington, VA) On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The Institute's nearly 150 research fellows research, write, and publish their findings for everything from public consumption, to the basis for conferences, to information for media programs. As President Biden seeks $33 billion more for Ukraine, we look at the dangers of U.S. military escalation with Medea Benjamin of CodePink and George Beebe of the Quincy Institute. Since then, Heritage has solidified itself as one of the most influential Conservative organizations in the United States. Critics on the Left have argued that the Open Society Institute and Foundation serve only to advance a capitalist order, while figures on the Right have claimed the Foundation works with the intention of establishing a unitary global government. There are two challenges that the Quincy Institute will have to face in attempting to promote ideas that move U.S. foreign policy away from endless war and toward vigorous diplomacy in the pursuit of international peace, as its website put it. Originally appeared on The American Conservative.. Stephen Kinzer comments on the creation of a new think tank, The Quincy Institute, committed to promoting a foreign policy of restraint and non-interventionism:. In recent years, the organization has been the subject of a number of controversies regarding its association with polarizing philanthropist George Soros, and accusations that it is too influenced by the agendas of US foreign policy. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is one of the most respected think tanks in Washington. Heritage's current Board of Trustees reads like a Who's Who of the new Conservative movement, and includes such names as Larry P. Arnn (President of Hillsdale College), Jim DeMint (former Senator and now President of Heritage), and Steve Forbes (President and CEO of Forbes). Founded in 1918 with a $10 million endowment by Standard Oil--widow Anna M. Harkness, the Commonwealth Fund was one of the first foundations established by a woman. Worldwatch publishes the annual "State of the World" report, which is an assessment of urgent global environmental problems paired with innovative ideas for solutions. Neoconservative Bill Kristol is definitely not a fan, tweeting that these ideas would be like reverting back to the interwar period. Unlike nearly all of the other think tanks on this list, Reason's research, analysis, and articles are all aimed at the general public. The throughline between the Obama and Trump years in foreign policy is members of both administrations complaining about The Blob. Both presidents campaign on fresh thinking in foreign policy. (New York, NY) Slate is published by The Slate Group, a Graham Holdings Company. It was far from clear that traditional sources of funding would be interested in supporting foreign policy doctrines that were antithetical to their ideological priors. The Lexington Institute was founded in 1998 in order to promote America's ability to project power around the world so that we can not only defend the homeland of democracy, but also sustain the international stability in which other free-market democracies can thrive. Its three main issues are national security, education reform, and US relations with Cuba. Then it was the Heritage Foundation's James Carafanos turn. In addition to Wertheim, the groups founders include Trita Parsi, the former president of the National Iranian American Council and a leading proponent of the Iran nuclear deal; Suzanne DiMaggio, an expert on negotiations with Iran and North Korea currently with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace; journalist Eli Clifton of the Nation; and the historian and retired Army Col. Andrew Bacevich. Polls show that 18 years after the 9/11 attacks, Americans are weary of long-term military commitments and deeply skeptical of regime change and interventionism. [11] According to its statement of purpose, it is opposed to the "military-industrial complex" described by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell address. The Quincy Institutes message, somewhat ironically, sounds a little like what Donald Trumps America First foreign policy was supposed to be in theory. The Electronic Privacy Information Center, known also as EPIC, was founded in 1994 by the Fund for Constitutional Government and Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility. Including names like Fareed Zakaria, Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw, and Madeleine Albright, CFR's impressive membership list has included senior politicians, more than a dozen Secretaries of State, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, and prominent media figures. The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft is a non-interventionist foreign policy advocacy organization founded in 2019 with support from two major political Two years ago I told Voxs Zack Beauchamp, This is the iron law of ideas: You cant beat an idea unless you take the time to think of a better one. Of course, as I also told Beauchamp, think tanks need funding to exist. (Los Angeles, CA) Regardless, Hoover has maintained the same basic tenets of representative government, private enterprise, peace, and personal freedom for nearly 100 years. Its in-house publisher is Hoover Institution Press (which produces books written by Hoover fellows), as well as the quarterly periodicals Hoover Digest, Education Next, China Leadership Monitor, and Defining Ideas. Several of the candidates running for president appear to be working to craft a message that emphasizes support for democracy and human rights abroad but eschews military interventionism. If you oppose keeping thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Syria indefinitely, prize steely-eyed diplomatic solutions over launching Tomahawks, or dare to question a single precept of U.S. strategy over the past 30 years, you better brace yourself youre an isolationist.. With the belief that currently existing science and technology could be applied to improve the conditions of world populations, the Institute focuses on addressing important global issues such as sustainable development and the needs of the world's poor. Sign up now to get the Washington Examiners breaking news and timely commentary delivered right to your inbox. Named for the famous Austrian School economist, the Institute's stated mission is to promote the Misesian tradition of thought through the defense of the market economy, private property, sound money, and peaceful international relations, while opposing government intervention. As such it has become, perhaps more than any other institution on this list, the darling of myriad Young Conservative groups. (Washington, DC) Urban has also been described as a leading liberal think tank by the Los Angeles Times. Since the introduction of the Affordable Care Act, the Fund has become a main source of information about the law's reforms, enrollment numbers, the effects of insurance reforms and sustainability of insurance marketplaces, and much more. Founded in 2019, the Quincy Institute is a Washington-based foreign-policy think tank that brings together scholars, activists, and former officials of both left and right, Libertarian-leaning senators like Mike Lee and Rand Paul have worked with liberals on efforts to end the U.S. role in the Saudi-led war in Yemen. Theyre entitled to their own positions and are free to promote them. [1] "The Quincy Institute promotes ideas that move U.S. foreign policy away from endless war and toward vigorous diplomacy in the pursuit of international peace," according to its website. Aspen is headquartered in Washington, DC, but has additional campuses in Colorado and Maryland, as well as partner Aspen Institutes in Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Paris, Lyon, Tokyo, New Delhi, Prague, and Bucharest. This report is frequently cited by political scientists, journalists, policymakers, and those in academia. Featuring thinkers such as Andrew The number of categories in which a think tank was ranked by the University of Pennsylvania (Lauder Institute) in its, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $7,700,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): <100, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #1 (University-Affiliated Think Tank), Notable Figures: Graham Allison, Stephen Biddle (former), Robert Blackwill, William Clark, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $5,200,000, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #36 (US), #5 (University Affiliated), #26 (Environment), Notable Figures: Scott Barrett, Robin Bell, Michael Gerrard, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $392,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 1,298, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #9 (US), #17 (world), Notable Figures: Michael J. Gerson (former), Rebecca Hagelin (former), Edwin Meese III (former), Walter E. Williams (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $301,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): Unknown, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: None, Notable Figures: Michele Alexander, Carroll Bogert, Kenneth Roth, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $356,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 874, Notable Figures: Drew Altman, Diane Rowland, Mollyann Brodie, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $203,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 993, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #4 (US), #8 (world), #4 (Foreign Policy and International Affairs), Notable Figures: Madeleine Albright (former), Tom Brokaw (former), Colin Powell (former), Fareed Zakaria (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $169,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 2,434, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #1 (World), #1 (US), #4 (Defense and Security), #1 (Foreign Policy and International Affairs), #1 (Domestic Economic Policy), #4 (Environmental Policy), #3 (Education Policy), #3 (Domestic Health Policy), Notable Figures: Ben Bernanke (former), Jon Huntsman (former), Robert Kagan (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $63,400, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 718, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #8 (US), #16 (worldwide), #5 (Domestic Economic Policy), #4 (Education Policy), Notable Figures: 10 Nobel Prize--winners in Economic Sciences have worked with Cato, including both Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman; other notable former fellows include Vaclav Klaus (the second President of the Czech Republic, 2003--2013) and, Political Orientation:Libertarian/Classical Liberal, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $39,700, Notable Figures: Andrew Napolitano, Ron Paul, Murray Rothbard (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $53,600, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 1,100, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #13 (Defense and National Security), Notable Figures: Former UN Ambassador John Bolton; former NEH chairperson Lynne Cheney; author and former Dutch parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali; sociologist and best-selling author Charles A. Murray; and PBS Think Tank host Ben J. Wattenberg, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $121,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 618, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #7 (world), #6 (US), #2 (Domestic Health Policy), #2 (Education Policy), #5 (Energy and Resource Policy), #2 (Defense and Security), Notable Figures: 32 Nobel Prize recipients have been associated with RAND in the last 60 years, including John Forbes Nash, Jr., Thomas C. Schelling, and Oliver Williamson, Political Orientation: Liberal/Progressive, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $59,900, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 843, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #10 (US), Notable Figures: Former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (former); the late Elizabeth Edwards; former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $157,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 279, Notable Figures: Kinsey Hasstedt and Elizabeth Nash, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $67,300, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 461, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #23 (US), #14 (Social Policy), #20 (Domestic Economic Policy), #49 (Best Managed), Notable Figures: Jared Bernstein, Kathy Ruffing, Paul N. Van de Water, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $60,600, Average Media References per Year (by Others): Unknown, though NBER claims it is the second most-cited think tank, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #11 (US), #2 (Domestic Economic Policy), Notable Figures: Milton Friedman (former), Paul Krugman (former), Joseph Stiglitz (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $99,200, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 275, Notable Figures: Khaliah Barnes, Marc Rotenberg, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $117,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 260, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #13 (US), #15 (world), #4 (Domestic Economic Policy), Notable Figures: Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer; Chevron Corp. Chairman David O'Reilly; Former President of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $192,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 692, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #4 (world), #5 (Foreign Policy and International Affairs), #1 (Defense and Security), Notable Figures: former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (former), former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak (former), former Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy (former), Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $41,700, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 546, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #20 (US), #1 (Education Policy), Notable Figures: Harry P. Hatry, Rudolph G. Penner, Robert D. Reischauer, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $103,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 555, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #46 (US), #55 (Domestic Economic Policy), Notable Figures: Josh Bivens, Daniel Costa, Emma Garcia, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $48,600, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 203, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #45 (US), Notable Figures: David Devlin-Foltz, Maurice LaMee, Peter Waanders, Damian Woetzel, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $23,000, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 200, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #5 (US), #10 (world), Notable Figures: Lawrence K. Altman, Charles Armstrong, Cynthia Arnson, Political Orientation: Conservative/Libertarian, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $15,500, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 335, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #19 (US), Notable Figures: Robert Conquest, Richard A. Epstein, Niall Ferguson, Timothy Garton Ash, Victor Davis Hanson, Henry Kissinger, Harvey Mansfield, Allan H. Meltzer, Douglass C. North, Sam Nunn, Condoleezza Rice, George P. Schultz, Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $44,700, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 277, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #39 (US), Notable Figures: Claire Berlinski, Theodore Dalrymple, Heather Mac Donald, John McWhorter, Jason Riley, Luigi Zingales, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $62,400, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 276, Notable Figures: Mark Krikorian, John Miano, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $36,700, Average Media References per Year (by Others): 371, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #4 (world), #3 (US), #1 (Defense and Security), #5 (Foreign Policy and International Affairs), Notable Figures: James Acton, Rachel Kleinfeld, Richard Sokolsky, Michael D. Swaine, Moises Naim, Sarah Chayes, Marwan Muasher, and Dmitri Trenin, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $14,600, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #8 (Transparency and Good Governance), #29 (Impact on Public Policy), #42 (US), Notable Figures: George Soros, Jonathan Soros, Christopher Stone, Monetary Value of Monthly Traffic: $25,200, 2014 Global Go To Think Tank Index Report Rankings: #3 (Top Transparency and Good Governance), Notable Figures: Daniel Calingaert, Susan Corke, Lawrence Lessig, P.J. On the education front, RAND is home to the Frederick S. Pardee RAND Graduate School, the world's largest PhD-granting program in Policy Analysis. Someday soon, they may not have Trump to agree on any more. [7] It has been described as "realist" and "promot[ing] an approach to the world based on diplomacy and restraint rather than threats, sanctions, and bombing". As non-profit organizations, think-tanks must make their revenue numbers available to the public; the greater its revenue, the more influential the think tank---other things being equal. Most of Urban's researchers are economists, social scientists, or public policy researchers, and past Board of Trustee members have included such heavyweights as McGeorge Bundy and Robert McNamara. [11], Co-founder Trita Parsi, an Iranian-born author and analyst, has described the Quincy Institute as "transpartisan", and, according to The Nation, has described the need for "an alliance of politicians on the left and right who agree on the need for restraint, even if they do so for different reasons". All rights reserved. The Institute publishes The Guttmacher Policy Review journal, as well as the periodicals Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health and International Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. Finally, the Institute maintains the popular blog State of the Planet.. Theyve already taken some incoming fire from never-Trumper neocons like Bill Kristol. 2023 Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved. More than just a research organization, Worldwatch works to develop innovative solutions to issues, advocate for the environment to government leadership and members of private enterprise, and rally for citizen action. What a Victory for Ukraine Should Look Like, South Koreas Enduring Restraint Toward China, Robert Kagan and Interventionisms Big Reboot, Tell me how this ends: If recent history is a guide, not with a knockout blow, Lawmakers quietly gave weapons firms bailout for unproven inflation burden. Though Urban describes itself as Independent, a study by the Quarterly Journal of Economics on media bias ranked the Institute as the eleventh-most-liberal They join the Cato Institute, the Center for the National Interest and New America in the heterodox foreign policy basket. (Washington, DC) (Washington, DC) "[1], "The Quincy Institute aims to offer a corps of experts in Washington who will promote a unified foreign-policy paradigm based on statecraft and cooperation. Though it does deal with nationwide issues, the Institute is perhaps best known for its work concerning California. The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research is a well-known Conservative think tank that seeks to develop and disseminate new ideas that foster greater economic choice and individual responsibility. Specifically, the Institute advocates for free market--based solutions to issues plaguing the economy, energy, education, healthcare, welfare reform, the legal system, crime reduction, and urban life, among a number of other things. Accordingly, in choosing and ranking the think tanks on this list, we employed the following criteria, which look less at the intrinsic merit of a think tank and its intellectual program as at its pragmatic or "cash value" (as the philosopher William James would have put it): (Cambridge, MA) But those of us advocating for more realism are allowed to do the same. All contents 2023 The Slate Group LLC. The Institute deals mostly in research, and topics of focus include population issues, the economy, governance, and public finance. Urban Institute was founded in 1968 by the Lyndon B. Johnson administration in order to study the nation's urban problems and evaluate initiatives set in motion through LBJ's Great Society laws. We are all for democracy and human rights, Wertheim says. If you want to engage in a rigorous debate about Americas role in the world, it can be done without ad-hominem attacks. The Earth Institute was founded in 1995 at Columbia University in New York. In SourceWatch, key articles on Charles Koch and his late brother David include: Koch Brothers, Americans for Prosperity, Stand Together Chamber of Commerce, Stand Together, Koch Family Foundations, Koch Universities, and I360. This raises an interesting question: Will the Quincy Institute back Trump policies that approximate restraint, even if those policies fail to possess an internal logic? In 2015, the Center released a partial list that included the Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Walmart, Walton Family Foundation, CitiGroup, and the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. (Washington, DC) [15], Hal Brands, writing in Bloomberg News, described it as a "well-funded think tank" that is part of the "restraint coalition", a "loose network of analysts, advocates and politicians calling for a sharply reduced US role in the world". The Stimson Center uses analysis and outreach in an attempt to enhance international peace and security. Even in this age of great power competition, Carafano writes, these new isolationists would prefer America step off the playing field and wave from the sidelines.. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) was founded in 1981 by Robert Greenstein, a former political appointee in the Jimmy Carter administration. The billionaire philanthropist is a personification of the liberal international order, best known internationally for his support for pro-democracy and civil society movements around the world, movements that foreign governmentsparticularly Russias Vladimir Putinoften paint as tools of U.S. power and influence. Freedom House was founded in 1941 by a list of DC powerhouses that included Eleanor Roosevelt and Wendell Willkie. [1], Initial funding for the group, launched in November 2019,[2] included half a million dollars each from George Soros' Open Society Foundations and Charles Koch's Koch Foundation. Today, Freedom House publishes a number of books and reports by both its fellows and prominent statesmen, though it is most famous for its annual "Freedom in the World" report, which ranks each country's degree of political freedoms and civil liberties. The Quincy Institute was co-founded by Andrew Bacevich, a former US Army colonel in Vietnam and retired professor of history at Boston University. Of these members, 16 served as president of their country, more than 20 served at cabinet level, and 17 have held congressional seats. They want to contribute to the foreign policy debate. Lets see if they have something to say. "[7] Many fellows at the institute are veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Photo illustration by Slate. And so, as they have done for years, hawks from both parties are shooting the isolationist attack-line toward the new institute and anyone who supports restraint in foreign affairs. The Center publishes a number of books, articles, and studies each year, the most well-known of which is the Spotlight series, a bi-weekly commentary on current foreign policy issues. (Auburn, AL) Today, RAND is funded by the US government, a private endowment, universities, and major corporations (especially healthcare), and as such has extended its areas of focus to include everything from energy and the environment, to transportation and public safety. Some think tanks, such as the Brookings Institution or the Heritage Foundation, have become household names and are cited frequently by major news corporations. Specific research programs include disparities policy, global health policy, health costs, health reform, HIV/AIDS, Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, the uninsured, and women's health policy. What makes a think tank influential? Well, it turns out a lot of people can. The Institute works both in the United States and globally, evenly splitting its energies between the two. One of the problems with the Trump administration from its first year on, however, is that its overall policy competency is so abysmal that it discredits any validity contained in their critique of the Blob. In addition to its research and fellowship program, the Institute hosts a summer internship for graduate students and occasionally organizes conferences on specific issues. Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a regular contributor to PostEverything. Founded in 1948, the Kaiser Family Foundation focuses on major healthcare issues in the US and, to a lesser extent, the world. Baker is officially non-partisan, and conducts research with the aim of narrowing the gap between theory and practice in public policy. Other institutions, like think tanks, must harness the intellectual firepower needed to rethink foreign policy. As a business enterprise ourselves, we regard think tanks as principally in the business of selling their ideas. The funders are George Soros and Charles Koch. When the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft was founded in 2019, the mainstream media celebrated its emergence as a beacon of hope for a more It describes itself as moderate Conservative, which makes sense once you remember that its namesake once toyed with the idea of becoming a Democrat. Cirincione said he "fundamentally" disagrees with Quincy experts who "completely ignore the dangers and the horrors of Russias invasion and occupation and focus almost exclusively on criticism of the United States, NATO, and Ukraine". Liberals might be surprised to see Koch involved in a venture like this; he and his brother are better known for funding initiatives that promote deregulation and oppose universal health care and action against climate change. I have questions", "About QI - Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft", "America's Top Anti-War Think Tank Is Fracturing Over Ukraine", "New US think tank accused of antisemitism", "The World Doesn't Need a More Restrained America", "Misplaced Restraint: The Quincy Coalition Versus Liberal Internationalism", "Republican senator accuses Soros-funded think tank of fostering anti-Semitism", "Andrew Bacevich on U.S. The Worldwatch Institute is a Washington, DC--based think tank devoted solely to global environmental concerns. Today, Urban conducts nearly 200 individual projects at any given time, the subjects of which range from the cost-effectiveness of crime prevention to the success of immigrant children in US schools. You can think of a think tank as a research university blessed with a complete absence of students and where, as a consequence, none of its professors has to teach---all they have to do is research, research, research. The Center is highly controversial, and in recent years has been accused by the Wall Street Journal and the Southern Poverty Law Center of having ties to white supremacist groups and a eugenics foundation.