This book provides an innovative theoretical and analytical framework for studying the role and impact of specialized research organizations and consultancies on decision making in climate politics. The book improves the understanding of the role and impact of ‘scientific’ advice in coping with the challenge of anthropogenic climate change.

Introduction.- Chapter 1: Knowledge and Climate.- Chapter 2: What Think Tanks do – Towards a conceptual framework.- Chapter 3: Heated Debates and Cooler Heads – Think Tanks and Climate Politics in the United States.- Chapter 4: Members Only: Think tanks and climate politics in Germany.- Chapter 5: German and US Think Tanks in Comparison.- Chapter 6: Conclusion and Outlook.                                                                                             

This book provides an innovative theoretical and analytical framework for studying the role and impact of specialized research organizations and consultancies on decision making in climate politics. It includes advanced empirical analysis of the case of Germany, compared with the situation in the USA. The book improves the understanding of the role and impact of ‘scientific’ advice in coping with the challenge of anthropogenic climate change. Alexander Ruser is currently a temporary Professor of Sociology and Head of the Center for Political Communication at Zeppelin University, Germany. He was a Dahrendorf fellow at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin and Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economic and Political Science and the Punjab University, Chandigarh, India.

Analyzes the purpose, methods and strategies of think tanks to explain the interplay of knowledge and politics in modern societies Explores the consequences of ‘knowledge-based decision-making’ Appeals to students and scholars of public policy, political science and sociology