The Think Tank Racket

REVIEWS, 13 Nov 2023

Clarity Press - TRANSCEND Media Service

Managing the Information War with Russia

This book explores how the think tanks function, and how their growing role has influenced US policies toward Russia. Russia remains a leading adversary of the West and has sustained Washington’s exorbitant military spending over many decades. Think tanks accordingly have a great incentive to push for a confrontational posture towards Russia as they operate in an industry where conflicts are profitable and peace produces losses A mutually acceptable post-Cold War settlement threatened the revenue of one of the largest and most influential industries in the US, which was reversed as a result of NATO expansion and renewed tensions with Russia. 
ISBN: 9781949762808  $26.95 EBOOKS ISBN: 978-1-949762-81-5 $19.00
“A necessary and vital analysis of the corrupt and corrupting influence of think-tanks on policy and the policy process. Diesen shows how they are part of the echo chamber funded by defence contractors and associated ministries and corporations in the service of an ill-advised militarism, especially in regard to Russia, which has created a situation of permanent global war. The work throws a shaft of light on a dark corner of contemporary world politics, and exposes the dangers of unelected ‘thinkers’ on elected practitioners. Essential reading for anyone concerned with the future of democracy.”
PROFESSOR RICHARD SAKWA, University of Kent
“Glenn Diesen provides an important but disturbing account of the nexus between think tanks, governments, and the military-industrial complex. Instead of producing well-informed analyses, think tanks promote the interests of those who fund them, while seeking to suppress any manifestations of dissent.  The Think Tank Racket is a troubling but necessary read for all those wanting a better-informed political landscape”.
PROFESSOR PAUL ROBINSON, University of Ottawa
“German Bundestag Member Sevim Dagdelen, referring to media coverage of Ukraine, has warned, “Es ist unsere erste Pflicht, sich von diesem Koenigreich der Luegen nicht dumm machen zu lassen” – ‘Our first duty is not to let ourselves be made dumb by this kingdom of lies.’ And so, dutifully, and with truth as his breastplate, Glenn Diesen gives us the wherewithal to see that kingdom for what it is, and to expose its hirelings – the Knights of the Think Tanks.”
RAY McGOVERN, former CIA officer and
chair of National Intelligence Estimates
Glenn Diesen is a professor at the University of Southeast Norway (USN) and an associate editor at the  Russia in Global Affairs journal. Diesen’s research focus is Russia’s transition from the Greater European Initiative to the Greater Eurasian Partnership. Diesen has previously published nine books, a multitude of journal articles, and is a frequent contributor to international media. Recent titles include:  Great Power Politics in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. I.B. Tauris and with Alexander Lukin,
The Return of Eurasia, Palgrave Macmillan, both in 2021.

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This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 13 Nov 2023.

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