Think Tanks and Non-Traditional Security ─ Governance Entrepreneurs in Asia

This book explores how think tanks have become governance entrepreneurs in Asia. By providing locations for the identification, articulation, and management of non-traditional security (NTS) problems, think tanks have succeeded in taking control of the political discourse surrounding such issues. Opening with a historical overview, this study explains how Asian think tanks differ from their Western counterparts, and how they have been able to access political processes and assume governing authority. It goes on to examine think tank dialogues as important locations where security ideas in Asia have been re-shaped to meet changing strategic needs. Ultimately, this book demonstrates how think tanks have used ideas to embed themselves into existing security processes; facilitate the creation of new processes; and help re-define the substantive content of security for the twenty-first century.

Dr Erin Zimmerman holds the dual roles of Research Associate at the Indo-Pacific Governance Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, Australia, and Honorary Fellow in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA.