In Short:

This paper sheds light on the role of competition between ideologically-aligned movement organizations, as well as how contingency and choice influence movement ecosystems.

Abstract

The American Enterprise Institute is now widely recognized as a crown jewel of the conservative policy infrastructure, but its status as a prominent player in the realm of think tanks was not always certain. The mid-80s were a key period in AEI’s history, when its survival as an intellectual hub for the conservative movement was very much in doubt. After years of quietly managed yet ever mounting financial issues, AEI’s board was faced with a very stark choice: dig into their own pockets to preserve the think tank, or declare bankruptcy and let it go out of business. Had they chosen differently, the development of the conservative organizational landscape could have been very different. It is not at all obvious that another organization would have emerged in the conservative movement that embodied AEI’s more scholarly-centric ethos—an ethos more similar to that of the center-left Brookings Institution than the bare-knuckles movement conservatism of the Heritage Foundation. This paper sheds light on the role of competition between ideologically-aligned movement organizations, as well as how contingency and choice influence movement ecosystems.

About the author

Steven Teles

Professor, school of government and policy

Steven Teles is a political scientist focused on the intersection of political economy, public policy, political parties and ideology.