2017 North American Think Tank Summit: Think Tanks, Politics, and Power of Positive Thinking

Abstract

The 2017 4th Annual North American Think Tank Summit centered around the “Think Tanks, Politics, and Power of Positive Thinking” theme, with a wide range of topics discussed during the panels. This theme was inspired by the current trends and developments such as political elections and technological innovations in the North American countries. The rise of China, resurgence of Russia, and the conflicts in the Middle East have posed immediate national security threats to the stability of North America not only in the realm of the military, but also in cybersecurity, information, and economics. Meanwhile, Washington has been faced with a political transformation. There has also been a transformation of the information environment: long terms reports are being replaced by infographics and video and other ways of giving and consuming information, websites have become the most important way to communicate the ideas you want to share, a decline in newspaper readership, and the rise of partisan media which results in people refusing to believe different sources. There’s also a temptation for think tanks to take a less bipartisan makeup and outreach.