Think Tanks and US Foreign Policy

本論文探討智庫的定義及起源，並依其性質與功能將美國的智庫做分類，另介紹著名的美國外交智庫。本論文亦說明美國外交政策的決策環境，探討為何智庫得以參與美國外交政策，以及參與決策過程的方式，並討論智庫在決策過程中所扮演的角色以及智庫在美國興盛的原因。最後分析智庫在發展上可能受到的限制，及探討智庫如何因應未來的挑戰。This paper explores the definition and origin of think tanks, classifies American think tanks according to their nature and functions, and introduces some famous think tanks on US foreign policy. This paper also explains the decision-making environment of US foreign policy, discusses why think tanks can participate in the making of US foreign policy, and examines the roles of think tanks in the decision-making process and the reasons why think tanks flourish in the United States. This paper also tries to find out the development restrictions of American think tanks and explores how they meet future challenges