Indian Think Tanks and Policy-Planning Networks: Mapping a Power Elite

• In Event: Poster Session: Urban Politics and Policy & Public Policy
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Frontiers of Public Policy

Abstract

Through the study of think tanks and their directors, this paper will use comparative case analysis and network theory to build on previous scholarly work towards defining the scope and influence of a power elite in an Indian context. Think tanks are important organizations which facilitate and participate in the exercise of power in the policy process. Previous analyses of think tanks in the United States have demonstrated they are well-connected to large corporations and business policy-planning organizations through interlocking board directorships. The volume and influence of think tanks in India has grown substantially in recent decades, yet the relationships between Indian think tanks and other actors and interests in the policy process are sparsely studied. This paper will help build an understanding of “Who governs in India?” through a comparative case-study analysis of 16 influential Indian think tank boards of directors and interlocks with India's 500 largest companies and major business policy organizations. Board-centrality of think tanks in corporate networks will be compared to educational background of directors, business house affiliation, industry-area connections, and if possible, caste-identity, using qualitative and graph theoretic methods. Board composition data will be sourced from the Economic Times of India, institutional websites, and biographies. Adjustments will be made for the importance of persons as network nodes using an eigenvector centrality metric and board size. Results will be situated within the broader literature on think tanks and political elites in North America and Europe. It is expected that think tank directorships in India are similarly connected to large corporations and business groups as those in other studied states, and that individual think tanks will have connections concentrated among business houses, caste, and civil/military service. Connections to foreign businesses and boards will be noted and examined.

Author

• Justin Lee, RAND Corporation