Brookings Institution

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The Brookings Institution is one of the oldest and best known think tanks in the United States. Founded in 1916 and based in Washington, D.C., it describes itself as "an independent, nonpartisan organization devoted to research, analysis, education, and publication focused on public policy issues in the areas of economics, foreign policy, and governance."

1 History
2 Controversies
3 Organization
4 Political Orientation
5 Personnel
6 Funders
7 See also
8 External links

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History

The institution's founder, philanthropist Robert Somers Brookings (1850-1932), originally financed the formation of three organizations: the Institute for Government Research, the Institute of Economics, and the Robert Brookings Graduate School. The three were merged into the Brookings Institution in 1927.

During the administration of Richard M. Nixon, it was revealed that Brookings had been named to Nixon's famous enemies list, due to its criticism of Nixon domestic and foreign policies. Nixon ordered a burglary of Brookings in 1971, looking for leaked government information about the Vietnam War.

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Controversies

Brookings generated some controversy in late September 2000, when Vice President Al Gore delivered a campaign speech at Brookings. The speech, along with campaign banners hung on the walls, was unusual for a tax-exempt and officially nonpartisan think tank.

Brookings has also faced credibility issues after revelations that its "Saban Center for Middle East Policy" was funded almost entirely by a $13 million contribution from Israeli-American Haim Saban. Saban also is a major fundraiser for the Democratic party. The Saban Center also receives significant funding from the State of Qatar, which sponsors the Islamic World Forum annually in the Middle East.

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Organization

Brookings is made up primarily of four policy programs: Economic Studies, Foreign Policy Studies, Governance Studies, and the new Metropolitan Policy Program. [1] The Metro Program was launched in 1996 by Bruce Katz, [2] former Chief of Staff to Henry Cisneros when Cisneros was U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

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Political Orientation

Journalists sometimes describe Brookings as "centrist" or "liberal," although critics on the left view it as conservative.[3] Staunch conservatives have been equally vocal in their criticism of Brookings, which they perceive as a liberal institution because of its extensive roster of former officials from Democratic administrations and its advocacy of increased federal spending and planning. Although the think tank has received funding from such right of center groups as the Bradley Foundation, the largest donors to Brookings are left-of-center foundations (see list below), and prominent left-of-center figures such as Teresa Heinz Kerry and Senator Dianne Feinstein are also supporters.

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Personnel

The current president is Strobe Talbott, who previously was the Deputy Secretary of State in the Clinton administration and an editor at Time Magazine. Brookings currently has over 140 resident and nonresident scholars. Like Talbott, many of them served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, including Charles L. Schultze, Alice Rivlin, Kenneth Pollack, Robert Litan, Susan Rice, Christopher Foreman, William Galston, and Isabel Sawhill. Some of its notable resident scholars include:

William Gale [4] Economic Studies, Tax Policy
Stephen Hess, [5]Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
E.J. Dionne,[6] Washington Post columnist
Jonathan Rauch, [7] Atlantic Monthly correspondent
Michael O'Hanlon, [8]expert on terrorism and foreign affairs
Peter R. Orszag [9] Social Security
Alice Rivlin, United States budget process

List of scholars

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Funders

At the end of 2004 the Brookings Institution had assets of $258 million. It spent $39.7 million in that year. According to its annual report, the largest contributors in that year included liberal foundations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Carnegie Corporation; the governments of the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom; and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and her husband, Richard Blum. Past or present contributors include