Today's Edition
By: Abdulaziz Salem Al Marzooqi*
Information is crucial when war begins. People, governments and organisations need to know what is happening, why it is happening and what might happen next. However, obtaining reliable information about such events can be more difficult than getting information.
We typically get information from three sources: news media, academia and think tanks.
Media outlets provide the quickest form of information. It allows us to see what is occurring almost immediately. This speed is vital for reporting developments; however, it has some constraints.
The information provided may be incomplete or unreliable because it was reported before being verified. The information can be skewed due to competing stories, or it can be influenced by the pressure to report first.
At the opposite end of the spectrum are academics. They tend to produce high-quality studies that take time. The rate of change in a given conflict can exceed the rate of production of traditional academic studies.
It is here that think tanks fill a unique gap. Think tanks offer both the speed and responsiveness necessary to analyse rapidly changing situations and the quality and analytical skills associated with reputable research institutions. Think tanks address the evolving nature of a situation while providing a larger contextual framework (e.g., political, economic, social, historical).
Think tanks serve as a primary generator and interpreter of knowledge. While their value is not just generating reports and commentaries, they provide critical linkage between data, evidence and subject matter expertise to assist policymakers and the public in better understanding what exists behind the headlines.
One of the greatest values of think tanks is their relative independence. Think tanks consist of researchers who come from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and perspectives. This diversity allows them to evaluate an issue from multiple viewpoints instead of through the prism of a single organisation or political entity.
During conflicts, this multifaceted approach proves to be extremely relevant.
Most conflicts do not have a singular reason or impact; events may have various direct or indirect causal links.
For instance, a military action may have direct or indirect effects on economies, political decisions may reshape regional relationships and local conflicts can affect many countries across the world. To appreciate these linkages, one needs to look beyond the occurrence of an individual event.
Additionally, there are many reasons why a global perspective is so important for think tanks. Today’s conflicts do not occur in isolation. These conflicts can affect global trends in trade, migration, energy, security, foreign policy and international relations. Think tanks are uniquely suited to evaluating these global issues through a global lens and relating local events to global trends.
Therefore, in an environment in which information is abundant but its causes and consequences remain deeply uncertain, the role of think tanks is not to compete with the news cycle or replace academia. Rather, think tanks should seek to bridge the two types of information providers by offering timely, evidence-based and independent analysis that assists societies’ transition from identifying what occurred to understanding what it implies.
Notably, think tanks’ role is especially critical in environments where the pace of events creates great uncertainty.
*Director of Global Offices Department at TRENDS Research & Advisory
