ABSTRACT
Think tanks are research organizations that have a specific goal or ideology – a mix of academic and advocacy work. Some European countries, especially the UK and Germany, have a strong tradition of think tanks. The border between think tanks and interest groups is blurry. Lobby-critical network Alter-EU highlighted this fuzzy border by citing a debate about investment in growth and health in Africa, which was organized by the think tank Friends of Europe. The participants included the European commissioner for development and several MEPs. The think tank label leads journalists to report findings without asking the critical questions they would ask a campaign organization. ECFR claims to be the first pan-European think tank: it has offices in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Sofia and Warsaw. Like Carnegie Europe, ECR focuses on foreign policy. ECFR has three major research fields: Europe, China and the Middle East. Their experts are often quoted in European and American media.
