Thursday, 14 February 2019

Why Think Tanks Matter in Electoral Politics?


Think tanks' role in Indian electoral politics has to be contexualised in the current global environment, says Col R. Hariharan. The world is witnessing a rise in populism, nationalism and protectionism that  are challenging the established world order. Issues such as refugee crises, mass migration, climate change and non-traditional security threats have put countries and international institutions essential for their cooperation under enormous stress, he points out

Courtesy: Vidura | January-March 2019 issue| http://www.pressinstitute.in/category/vidura/

India is poised to elect a new parliament in the next three months, in the back drop of three issues that affect elections world over:  
  •      Cult of ignorance: Issac Asimov, one of the arch priests of science fiction writing, was quoted by the Newsweek  (January 22, 1980) as saying, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'”
  •       Violence weakening democracy: Mahatma Gandhi once said “the spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.” Terrorism can manifest before and during elections in various forms including extremism, criminal intimidation and violence or black propaganda.
  •      Non participation in politics: Classical Greek philosopher Plato, says “One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.” This is so true to this day, particularly in our urban areas.

The 2019 general election has created a great deal of interest as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a second term against an opposition coalition that has come together to provide an alternative option to the citizens. So the decibel level of political discourse is rising and the slanging match between political parties is adding to the din. While this is how democracy shows up on our streets during every general election, the influence of electronic media has vastly increased due  to common man’s access to instant information through mobile phones.
So it is not surprising political parties are making wide use of the electronic media for election campaign.  Election related news is hogging increasing space both in print and electronic media spectrum. This has triggered a real-time propaganda war through instant news reporting, trend analyses, opinion polls and endless debates on TV news channels. Electronic media is offering a smorgasbord of options ranging from electronic editions of print media supported by visuals to social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other specialized websites in various languages with lots of visual content. Often it is supported by embedded fake information, with morphed visuals masquerading as news.
This has made it difficult for voters to objectively understand key national issues. As a result, spread of rumours and disinformation has increased the threat of electoral violence in the society, already divided by religious and caste differences.
Role of think tanks in electoral politics
Think tanks are non-profit organizations created with the objective of carrying out research and analyses in specific disciplines to enable a better understanding of issues for evolving suitable policy formulation to improve the quality of life of citizens.  Think tanks can help a great deal in providing objective understanding of national issues.  They have an important role in the following aspects:
      Promotion of the cause of democracy
      Specialised research in framing and improving electoral laws, practices, and systems to conduct free and fair election in secure environment.
      Provide understanding and knowledge related to key issues affecting the election including foreign policy, governance, development and national security.
      Keep public informed on the implications of developments during the run up to the election.
      Advisory function to the election commission
      Influencing policy making on issues that affect democratic elections
      Electoral forecasting and trend analyses.

Role against Social media disruptors

Think tanks can develop the knowledge and expertise to combat social media disruption, which can play havoc with the electoral environment and peaceful conduct of elections. In addition they can -

      Use social media for proactive affirmative action against anti-democratic forces in multi-media format.
      Disrupt spread of fake news and rumours before and during elections.
      Provide advice on systemic improvements to neutralise social media threats to secure conduct of elections..

Are think tanks ready?

India has a very large number of think tanks varying in their quality of performance. Some of them serve ideology-based perspective on various issues affecting the quality of life of people.

      Competency and leadership: Many think tanks are handicapped by a culture that does not encourage vision oriented research and analysis. This is compounded by lack dynamic leadership to motivate the organization. As a result they stagnate in their performance.
      Vision and goal orientation: Unless there is goal orientation towards contributing to a national vision, think tanks would not be fulfilling their role.
      Financial constraints: Lack of public philanthropy has made think tanks dependent upon government grants or foreign contributions. Unless there is financial autonomy at least to some extent, think tanks will not be able to make objective contribution.
      Trust deficit: Some think tanks are linked to international think tanks with goals contrary to government policy. This has drawn adverse notice of media and security agencies. This increases their trust deficit among the public as many people believe think tanks’ functions are limited to charity or social causes. So think tanks in other disciplines are not given the recognition they deserve.
      Transparency: Transparency International (TI) has found that lack of transparency in funding sources is a common feature even in many well recognized think tanks.  TI survey of 27 think tanks of global repute found only ten think tanks were highly transparent and seven broadly transparent in disclosing who were funding them. Six think tanks were opaque, one was deceptive and three did not disclose the details.
      Networking: For real value addition, think tanks have to network with academia, administration, civil society and other think tanks relevant to their discipline. Then only their research will be broad based to meaningfully serve their objectives.

Management legend Peter Drucker in his seminal book Managing the Non-Profit Organisation [1989] provides excellent examples and explanations of mission, leadership, resources, marketing, goals, and much more for think tanks. For effective functioning of think tanks, the leadership should ponder over five questions on their mission, on their customer, on what the customer values, on their results and their plans. This is what think tanks in our country need to do to continue to be relevant to the people of the country.

[The writer, a retired military intelligence specialist on South Asia, has been associated with a number of think tanks including DESH, the Chennai Centre for China Studies, and South Asia Analysis Group. This is an excerpt from the author’s keynote address delivered at a seminar, Why Think Tanks Matter in Electoral Politics, organized by the Chennai Centre for China Studies jointly with the National Maritime Foundation (Southern Regional Chapter) and Press Institute of India under the auspices of Think Tanks Civil Societies Program, University of Pennsylvania on January 31 this year at PII-RIND.]



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