Think-tanks of the new right : theory, practice and prospects

Denham, Andrew Robert Joshua (1992) Think-tanks of the new right : theory, practice and prospects. University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the role and significance for British public policy of four New Right think-tanksin recent years - namely, the Institute of Economic Affairs, the Adam Smith Institute, the Centre for Policy Studies and the Social Affairs Unit. In attempting to bring political theory into closer contact with issues of government and public policy, the thesis is intended to fill what seems to me to be an important gap in the existing literature on the New Right in Britain and is to my knowledge the first (and so far, the only) detailed study of the institutional significance or otherwise of New Right think-tanks during the 1980s in philosophical and in policy terms. The thesis is organised in the following way. Part 1 considers the differences between the think-tanks in both philosophical and policy terms, by looking at the ideological orientation and modus operandi of each in turn. Part 2 examines the impact (if any) of New Right think-tanks on Conservative health and education policy during the 1980s and considers the response of each think-tank to the issue/dilemma of welfare-dependency. Part 3 discusses the increasing importance of New Right think-tanks in Conservative Party policy-making after 1975, both in opposition (before 1979) and in office (after 1979) under Margaret Thatcher's leadership. The final chapter considers what the future `prospects' for New Right think-tanks might be, given Thatcher's departure as Prime Minister and as Leader of the Conservative Party.

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