Southern think tank partnerships in the era of the 2030 agenda

Abstract

Think tanks are important actors in global policy-making, and those from the Global South are gaining relevance. One premise of this chapter is that the 2030 Agenda’s calls for more effective partnerships and new types of knowledge. A second premise is that partnerships reflect a power distribution among partners; in some cases, these are horizontal, and in others asymmetrical. In this context, the chapter explores the relationships between think tanks from the Global South with each other, their Northern peers, and the broader international community. It concludes that think tanks can enable collaborations with a diversity of actors. To do so, however, think tanks need to adapt their business models and develop trust with other policy actors in order to remain effective.