Abstract
A former Green MP and lifelong community activist, Bradford inquires into the absence of any left think tank in New Zealand, despite the presence since 1980 of a number of right and center think tanks. She describes the methodology and findings of recent research examining why no major left think tank had ever emerged in New Zealand, exploring participants’ ideas about what it would take to create such an entity. The article then goes on to describe the project that arose directly from her research findings, the collective establishment by academics and activists from across the left of Economic and Social Research Aotearoa (ESRA), a national think tank that was launched in September 2016. The development of ESRA is placed in the context of a perceived imperative to establish consciously counter-hegemonic left institutions, including think tanks, to counter the power of neoliberal capitalism in New Zealand.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beder, S. 2006. Suiting Themselves: How Corporations Drive the Global Agenda. London: Earthscan.
Bisaillon, L. 2012. An Analytic Glossary to Social Inquiry Using Institutional and Political Activist Ethnography. International Journal of Qualitative Methods 11 (5): 607–627.
Bradford, S. 2014. A Major Left Wing Think Tank in Aotearoa: An Impossible Dream or a Call to Action? PhD thesis, Institute of Public Policy, Auckland University of Technology.
Browning, C. 2011. Towards a New Theory of the Greens: Neither Left nor Right. Pundit. http://pundit.co.nz/content/towards-a-new-theory-of-the-greens-the-election-campaign. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Bruce Jesson Foundation. 2016. About. http://www.brucejesson.com/about. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Campaign Against Foreign Control of Aotearoa. 2016. Watchblog. http://watchblogaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Cheyne, C., M. O’Brien, and M. Belgrave. 2005. Social Policy in Aotearoa New Zealand: A Critical Introduction, 3rd ed. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Child Poverty Action Group. 2016. About Us. http://www.cpag.org.nz/about-us. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Choudry, A, and D. Kapoor. 2010. Learning from the Ground Up: Global Perspectives on Social Movements and Knowledge Production. In Learning from the Ground Up: Global Perspectives on Social Movements and Knowledge Production, ed. D. Kapoor and A. Choudry. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Collins, S. 2014. Street Activist Bradford Puts Her Thinking Cap on for Tomorrow’s Protesters. New Zealand Herald, July 26. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11299292. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Conway, J. 2006. Praxis and Politics: Knowledge Production in Social Movements. New York: Routledge.
Crothers, C. 2008. The State of New Zealand Sociology: An Updated Profile. New Zealand Sociology 23 (1): 1–27.
Easton, B. 2003. Public Policy and Think Tanks. Paper presented to Public Intellectuals Seminar, Wellington.
Easton, B. 2012. Rogernomics and the Left. Foreign Control Watchdog 129: 46–55.
Edwards, B. 2009. What’s Left in 2009 in New Zealand?. http://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2009/08/whats-left-in-2009-in-new-zealand.html. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Elliot, S., and D. Haigh. 2012. Advocacy in the New Zealand Not for Profit Sector: Nothing Stands by Itself. Third Sector Review 18 (2): 157–178.
Fabian Society. 2016. About the Fabians. http://fabians.org.nz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=67. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Frampton, C., G. Kinsman, A.K. Thompson, and K. Tilleczek (eds.). 2006. Sociology for Changing the World: Social Movements/Social Research. Black Point: Fernwood.
George, S. 1997. How to Win the War of Ideas: Lessons from the Gramscian Right. Dissent 44 (3): 47–52.
Gould, B. 2008. Rescuing the New Zealand Economy. Nelson: Craig Potton.
Grey, S., and C. Sedgwick. 2013. Fears, Constraints, and Contracts: The Democratic Reality for New Zealand’s Community and Voluntary Sector. Paper presented to Community and Voluntary Sector Research Forum, Wellington.
Harris, P., and L. Twiname. 1998. First Knights: An Investigation of the New Zealand Business Roundtable. Auckland: Howling at the Moon Publishing.
Hobgoblin. 2016. About Us. http://thisonly6.blogspot.co.nz. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Jesson, B. 1999. Only Their Purpose is Mad: The Money Men Take Over New Zealand. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press.
Kelsey, J. 1995. The New Zealand Experiment: A World Model for Structural Adjustment? Auckland: Auckland University Press.
Kerr, R. 1990. The New Zealand Business Roundtable: Roles and Goals. Paper presented at New Zealand Business Roundtable, Auckland.
Kotare Trust. 2016. A More Just World is Possible. http://kotare.org.nz. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Langford, J.W., and K.L. Brownsey. 1991. Think Tanks and Governance in the Asia-Pacific Region. Halifax, NS: Institute for Research on Public Policy.
Madden, R. 2010. Being Ethnographic. London: Sage.
McGann, J.G. 2016. 2015 Global Go to Think Tank Index Report. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania. http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=think_tanks. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Murray, G. 2006. Capitalist Networks and Social Power in Australia and New Zealand. Aldershot: Ashgate.
New Zealand Initiative. 2016. About Us. http://nzinitiative.org.nz/About+Us.html. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
O’Brien, M., S. Bradford, P. Dalziel, M. Stephens, M. Walters, and W. Wicks. 2010. Welfare Justice for All. Wellington: Caritas.
O’Brien, M., J. Sanders, and M. Tennant. 2009. The New Zealand Non-profit Sector and Government Policy. Wellington: Office for the Community and Voluntary Sector.
Olsen, J., and K. Murray. 2014. Nothing is Impossible: Why We Need a Major Left Wing Think Tank in New Zealand. Hobgoblin. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1-wzXxBvZSLNk9wakVTYURZazg/view. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Roper, B. 2005. Prosperity for All? Economic, Social and Political Change in New Zealand Since 1935. Melbourne: Thomson/Dunmore Press.
Smellie, P. 2012. Roundtable and NZ Institute Morph into New Libertarian Think Tank. National Business Review, April 4. http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/roundtable-and-nz-institute-morph-nz-initiative-ck-115751. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Smith, G.W. 1990. Political Activist as Ethnographer. Social Problems 37 (4): 629–648.
Smith, D. 2005. Institutional Ethnography: A Sociology for People. Lanham, MD: Altamira Press.
Srnicek, N., and A. Williams. 2015. Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work. London: Verso.
Stone, D. 2004. Introduction: Think Tanks, Policy Advice and Governance. In Think Tanks: Policy Research and the Politics of Ideas, ed. D. Stone and A. Denham. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Tanczos, N. 2011. Greens Step Forward. http://rasnandor.blogspot.com/2011/06/greens-step-forward.html. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Trotter, C. 2012. National Attacks Unions … Again. How will Labour Respond? Bowalleyroad, May 14. http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/national-attacks-unions-again-how-will.html. Accessed 15 Nov 2016.
Weaver, R.K. 1989. The Changing World of Think Tanks. PS: Political Science and Politics 22 (3): 563–578.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bradford, S. (2017). From Research to Reality: Developing a Radical Left Think Tank in New Zealand as Counter-Hegemonic Praxis in a Previously Empty Space. In: Salas-Porras, A., Murray, G. (eds) Think Tanks and Global Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56756-7_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56756-7_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-57493-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-56756-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)