The role of think tanks in integration processes

Abstract

The article analyzes the role of think tanks in the development of supranational integration projects. The significance and the international experience of using the potential of think tanks in foreign policy is considered. As a result of the study, some reasons have been identified that hinder the harmonious integration and development of interaction of think tanks within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. The public policy of most of the EAEU countries has not yet developed a tradition related to the financing of thought factories from individuals and organizations, as well as from business structures and special trust funds, as well as tax benefits and mechanisms that facilitate this process. The lack of opportunities to receive a research order or a grant from the public or private sector, including from the supranational structures of the EAEU, which are existentially important for the functioning and development of thought factories. As a rule, this pushes thought factories to participate in grant projects of countries and organizations located outside the EAEU. As a result, in some EAEU countries, the financial flows that support this sector mainly come from other countries. In fact, using numerous grant programs and other soft tools, other external actors often use the potential of the thought factories of the EAEU countries, thereby getting the opportunity to dictate their agenda, lobby their interests and promote their vision in specific policy areas, which undoubtedly sets trends in the expert-analytical environment, affects the ideological orientation of thought factories and the formation of public opinion. There are not enough platforms that promote the interaction of thought factories within the framework of the EAEU, which, along with an insufficient financial component that can create appropriate motivation, significantly hinders the development of integration in this direction.