CSIS: A Bipartisan Think Tank in a Hyper-Partisan Town

Walking into the Center for Strategic and International Studies on 1800 K Street NW, there seemed to be nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about the board room, auditorium or several floors of cubicles and offices.
Andrew Schwartz, Vice President for External Relations, made it clear, however, that a new building was next on the agenda (see the plans for CSIS’s new home here.
What CSIS lacked in architectural flashiness and grandeur it surly made up for wit substance. Larry Lauer, TCU Vice Chancellor of Government Affairs, said what Schwartz would only confirm: CSIS is the premier bipartisan foreign policy think tank which provides respected policy recommendations and a forum for dialogue for some of the most highly respected and established scholars within academia, government and foreign affairs. CSIS focuses on three key issues: foreign policy, national security and global issues.
Although the CSIS International Councillors and Advisory Board have different political interests and backgrounds, altogether they are bipartisan. The simple question to how CSIS stays a bipartisan, centrist think tank lies in the fact that everyone benefits from an objective policy recommendation from some of the most intelligent and creative experts in foreign policy, national security and global issues today. Schwartz noted that if CSIS Counselors, Councillors and Advisory Board wanted partisan insight into certain issues, then they could go to one of the numerous partisan think tanks and lobbying organizations.
CSIS is also an attractive avenue for the truly passionate individuals in their fields of expertise in foreign policy making. Schwartz and Louis Lauter, CSIS Director of Congressional Relations, noted the elected policy makers on Capitol Hill no longer have the time devote themselves to the premier issues within foreign policy initiatives; the term Schwartz used was “treading water.” The scholars within CSIS devote their time to these certain policy issues.
CSIS has also been used as an intermediary for government and military officials across the globe to make constructive dialogue. CSIS holds a number of “signature events” such as the Statesman’s Forum, The Congressional Dialogue Series as well as the CSIS-Schieffer School Series in Public Policy and the Media.
Max Entman, CSIS Multimedia Manager for External Relations, helped tie together what John Lumpkin helped to describe as a triangular relationship between think tanks, policy makers and the media. Schwartz also touched on the fact that five years ago CSIS was a reactive organization, but that it has now taken a proactive approach to media outreach. CSIS experts now appear on television and radio between 75 to 120 times per month, while CSIS experts and studies are cited between 80 and 100 times per month, according to CSIS.
Entman’s work with iTunes U, reports, short analysis and newsletters have all given those within D.C. and across the nation more direct access to CSIS policy recommendations as well as the forums they host for dialogue on the issues CSIS provides insight towards.
CSIS operates as a non-profit with a $28.7 million budget in 2009. A number of other specific global initiatives CSIS currently pursues include Smart Global Health, Cybersecurity and a number of committee-driven initiatives related to defense issues.