Think Tanks as Players in Global Governance

The worldwide emergence of public policy research organizations has occurred only recently. Compared to the US, the concept of “think tanks” is relatively new in Germany, and there are only a very limited number of institutions active in policy research and policy consulting. On 12 August 2005 Markus Knigge, Fellow at Ecologic, gave a presentation at the Bucerius Summer School on how Ecologic – one of the few German think tanks – contributes to environmental policy making on the German, European and international level.

The Bucerius Summer School invites annually around 50 to 60 young professionals and international leaders to a two-week retreat in Hamburg to discuss and exchange ideas concerning global governance issues. One key topic within the school is the institutional framework of global governance and the role of non-governmental organizations on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.

After presentations from Helmut K. Anheier, Director of the Center for Civil Society at the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research in Los Angeles, and Lotte Leicht, Director of Human Rights Watch in Brussels, Markus Knigge gave a presentation on Ecologic’s work in the environmental policy area. Within his presentation he touched upon: Ecologic's historical background; Ecologic's statutes, budgets and decision making bodies; Ecologic's fields of activity; Ecologic's processes, procedures and participation in governance; and Ecologic's successes and challenges.