The Autonomy of Think Tanks in the Context of the Neoliberal Agenda: A Study of Selected Think Tanks in Ghana

Abstract

This thesis examines the autonomy of think tanks in the context of the neoliberal agenda. Ghana is experiencing the fourth wave of think tank emergence. This period is associated with globalisation, characterized by economic and political reform as solutions to economic crisis of the 1980s. The period has also witnessed the roll back of the state and assumption of state social welfare functions by civil society organizations perceived by the developmental partners as autonomous and a conduit of development. In effect donor funding are made available to civil society organizations whose activities would specifically promote institutional reform. This research employs the good governance framework to examine the extent to which donor funding and dominant neoliberal interest influence the activities of think tanks and undermine their autonomy. It examines neoliberal conceptions of civil society as a critical force acting to make government policy more accountable and representative of popular interest. With a case study of three renowned think tanks: Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), an executive director and two research officials from each organization, a research fellow from Star Ghana and a member of parliament participated in the study. The findings indicated that donor funding associated with institutional reform has resulted in the valorization of two distinctive think tanks; those pursuing either social welfare programmes or institutional reform programmes. They are also autonomous because they operate independent of the state, assert internal control which enables them freely access donor aid (intellectual, financial and technical). The study concluded based on the findings that although think tanks are organizationally autonomous, donor funding is condition based and a situation that undermines their autonomy in a competitive knowledge based global economy.