Same, but Different: The Evolution of Think Tanks in the GCC
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Same, but Different: The Evolution of Think Tanks in the GCC
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June, 2023
In our line of work as consultants in the Global South, Botho frequently mediates between the public and private sectors to create strategies that accelerate the development of the private sector and harmonize business and development goals. Given the dynamism of the economies we work in - emerging and high-growth markets - we are compelled to regularly undertake in-depth research on a variety of topics and industries. Although we are advisors, we see the commonalities we share with think tanks, who act as both a catalyst and marketplace for ideas, and who gather and analyze data to highlight policy implications in order to, in turn, generate policy proposals and actionable plans.
Moreover, think tanks are in the business of pushing for change through thought leadership - something that we have tried to embody in our own practice. Members of the Botho team are prolific writers - producing op-eds, briefs, and articles, in an effort to constantly push ourselves to connect the dots between seemingly unrelated spaces, topics, sectors, and people. This effort is built on the foundation of strong data and analyses, both internally and externally generated. And for the latter, we can attribute a significant portion to the publications of think tanks operating in emerging economies. It is for these reasons that Botho became interested in learning about think tanks in the Global South and how they provide feasible solutions to the most pressing issues facing their countries and regions of operation.
This study will hopefully serve as a starting point for a series of reports that will explain the unique challenges and opportunities that think tanks in different regions of the Global South experience. It also intends to test the underlying assumptions of what a think tank is or ought to be, given that prevailing definitions and benchmarks tend to be rooted in the West. We chose to start with the Gulf region, specifically, the 6 Gulf Cooperation Council countries, given that their current political economy sits, in some ways, at an inflection point. The GCC countries share the overriding economic objective of diversifying their economies since, in the next few decades, their oil wealth will deplete significantly. But this collective goal is underpinned by the shifting sands of geopolitics, where longstanding political stances and alliances are now undergoing profound metamorphoses. This will necessitate considerable finessing on the policy-making front. And, yet, think tanks appear to be under-utilized in the region. We set out to understand why.
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