Department of social anthropology seminar with Christina Garsten

The Department of Social Anthropology has the pleasure to invite you to a seminar with Christina Garsten from the Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University. She will present the following paper:

"Think tanks and the art of bricolage in global governance"


Abstract
Think tanks, or policy institutes, are becoming significant actors on the global political scene. While their primary concern often is to provide policy-relevant knowledge, based on which decision makers can make informed choices, they also play a vital part in articulating policy issues and defining policy agendas and priorities. By means of indirect influence ¬¬– social networking, media appearances, policy briefings, and publications – they strive to influence the viewpoints, positions, and decisions taken by others (such as politicians, intergovernmental bodies, transnational corporations and nation-states). In this way, they are able to exercise varying degrees of political influence at the national as well as the global level. The paper departs from an interest in how neoliberal forms of governance are actually carried out, and how think tanks are able to exercise influence and power. The discussion is based on ethnographic fieldwork in and among think tanks in Washington DC in 2011. It is suggested that aspects of the work of think tank public intellectuals may be seen as a form of bricolage, the creation of complex assemblages of ideas from diverse sources. The ability of think tanks to achieve results relies on their capacity to tinker with and package information into timely and relevant arrays, and then to enroll and mobilize relevant actors so as to gain access to arenas of decision making that they do not directly control.

 
Bionote
Christina Garsten is Professor at the Department of Social Anthropology, Stockholm University and Chair of Score (Stockholm Centre for Organizational Research). Her research interests are oriented towards the anthropology of organizations, with focus on the globalization of corporations and markets and on emerging forms of governance in transnational trade. In recent years, she has focused particularly on organizational visions and practices aiming to promote more transparency and accountability at a global level, the development of transnational standards for CSR, and the perspectives of corporate managers on social responsibility and ethics. Christina has also done research on policy-changes in the labour market, such as the emphasis on flexibility, employability and learning. Her current engagement is focused on the role of think tanks in the making of policy for global development, particularly on how development goals and business priorities are aligned.

All interested are welcome!

Best regards

The BSAS Committee