Neoliberal think tanks were built through direct coaching from older ones

Evidence

Beyond financial assistance, Atlas also provided one-on-one coaching to help institutes develop in unique contexts. The idea was to relay “the experience of the [IEA]” and other first generation think tanks to “advise an ever-growing family of institutes.” Initially, this took the form of personal visits by Fisher. As de Soto later recalled, for example: “It was on the basis of his vision that we designed the structure of the ILD. He then came to Lima and told us how to structure the statutes, how to plan our goals, how to build the foundation, what to expect in the short and long term.” — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 575

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader literature on the IEA and Mont Pelerin network’s deliberate institution-building strategy, and to Quinn Slobodian’s work on the globalists. — connects to: Neoliberal think tanks were standardized through explicit managerial blueprinting — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 580; Reagan’s administration recruited heavily from conservative think-tank ranks — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1808

Broader Connections

• Neoliberal think tanks were standardized through explicit managerial blueprinting #corroborates (0.90) — Dieter Plehwe, Quinn Slobodian & Philip Mirowski (eds.), Nine Lives of Neoliberalism, 580