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  • 22 ta' Mejju 2015

Think Tank Review - Issue 24/2015

Welcome to issue 24 of the Think Tank Review compiled by the EU Council Library.  It gives a short abstract of papers published in April 2015, with a link to the full text.

Readers outside the EU institutions will forgive us if we start this introduction by highlighting the products of two 'in-house' organisations: April saw the publication of the first notes by the Commission’s own European Political Strategy Centre (we note in particular one on legal migration - we also note that, according to a major media outlet in Brussels, the Centre has "the President's blessing to ruffle feathers"). April also saw the publication of the Yearbook of European Security, by the EU Institute for Security Studies; the yearbook includes the kind of gems a reference librarian dreams of, such as an overview of Member States' voting records in the UN Security Council.

For our special focus this month, we have found various papers revisiting the confrontations and tragedies of the 20th century. We note in particular the study by two French foundations surveying memories of the 20th century in young people, but also papers on the Armenian genocide, on reconciliation around the Sudeten issue, on the Cold War and lessons it can provide on today's sanctions against Russia.

Indeed, we found more studies based on surveys, often spanning several countries, which probably is a good sign for the evidence base of think tank work. Examples include a German paper on Poles, Germans and Russians on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, or expert surveys on subjects as diverse as attitudes towards EMU reform, perspectives for the WTO, the use of drones, and - inevitably - the City's attitude towards Brexit.

By diligently referencing and disseminating their publications, this library humbly claims to contribute to the work of think tanks. That's why we were pleased to include in this issue a short note from the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs on 'thinking the global world': Pensando el mundo global - Think tanks y políticas públicas. Still on meta-level, it is worth mentioning the On think tanks blog, with interesting posts on how EU think tanks use Twitter, or on women in knowledge organisations.

The next Review will be out in June 2015, with papers published in May. 

For articles published in previous editions of the Think Tank Review, check our repository of think tank publications on EU affairs.

  • access the TTR repository here