Under president Arthur Brooks AEI has hit its stride, becoming the premiere right-leaning think tank. Unlike Heritage, it has stayed out of politics and stuck to the realm of political philosophy and policy. It has been a major mover on the right to create a more people-centric, positive vision of conservatism. And to top it off, Brooks is doing some fascinating work on happiness — who is happy, what makes us happy. AEI has and continues to provide intellectual sustenance and encouragement to conservatives like Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
Here is more from Think Tank Watch about Brooks' happiness campaign. Here are Think Tank Watch's favorite excerpts from a recent Roll Call piece about how AEI is working to transform the Republican Party.
AEI was recently ranked as the 20th best think tank in the world by the annual University of Pennsylvania think tank rankings. It was also ranked as the 7th best think tank in the United States, and the 3rd best think tank in the world in terms of domestic economic policy. It was also ranked 3rd best think tank in the world for social policy, and 4th best think tank in the world for energy and resource policy.