Dr. Jason Stahl has written a
new book on conservative think tanks entitled "Right Moves: The Conservative Think Tank in American Political Culture Since 1945." Following is an overview from Amazon:
From the middle of the twentieth century, think tanks have played an
indelible role in the rise of American conservatism. Positioning
themselves against the alleged liberal bias of the media, academia, and
the federal bureaucracy, conservative think tanks gained the attention
of politicians and the public alike and were instrumental in
promulgating conservative ideas. Yet, in spite of the formative
influence these institutions have had on the media and public opinion,
little has been written about their history. Here, Jason Stahl offers
the first sustained investigation of the rise and historical development
of the conservative think tank as a source of political and cultural
power in the United States.
What we now know as conservative
think tanks--research and public-relations institutions populated by
conservative intellectuals--emerged in the postwar period as places for
theorizing and "selling" public policies and ideologies to both
lawmakers and the public at large. Stahl traces the progression of think
tanks from their outsider status against a backdrop of New Deal and
Great Society liberalism to their current prominence as a counterweight
to progressive political institutions and thought. By examining the rise
of the conservative think tank, Stahl makes invaluable contributions to
our historical understanding of conservatism, public-policy formation,
and capitalism.
Dr. Stahl is a Lecturer in the Department of Organizational Leadership and Policy Development at the University of Minnesota.
In the past, Dr. Stahl has delivered a lecture at the Library of Congress (video can be viewed
here) entitled "
Conservatives in a Marketplace of Ideas: Think Tanks, Interests, and Expertise in the 1970s."