Are Think Tanks Lobbyists?

There is more than a hint of that this is so. The NY Times has just published a study of the relationship between some foreign countries and some major American think tanks, such as the Brookings Institute. The paper says that there are "more than a dozen prominent Washington research groups [that] have received tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments in recent years while pushing United States government officials to adopt policies that often reflect the donors’ priorities".

The think tanks have not registered as lobbyists, although they have published papers and conducted seminars which appear to push a particular government's wishes, e.g. Japan's interest in the TPP. Such activities are probably in violation of our laws, specifically the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires groups that are paid by foreign governments with the intention of influencing public policy to register as “foreign agents” with the Justice Department.

In the past three years at least 64 foreign governments have given money to at least 28 think tanks. The Times claims that the contributions have totaled at least $92,000,000 over the past few years, the paper believes the amount is considerably higher.