Between Impact and Delusion: The Role of American Think Tanks in Political Decision-Making – A Case Study of American Policy towards the Russian Federation after Annexation of Crimea

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine to what extent the leading US think tanks influenced the US policy towards the Russian Federation after annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Comparative analysis was performed on three entities – the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Atlantic Council. Their respective activity has been placed against the model of think tank impact, which is composed of the following elements: framing of key ideas and issues – providing policy alternatives – shaping of decision-making process. The author has positioned the results of his analysis within a larger discussion on changes in the global order and the system of liberal democracy itself.

Keywords

• think tanks
• security
• russian federation
• ukraine
• united states