Neoliberalism in Translation: The Establishment of Interorganizational Partnerships among Free-Market Think Tanks in Latin America

Tomas Gold, Brown University

Why and how do neoliberal think tanks develop partnerships across multiple transnational advocacy networks? To answer these questions, this chapter draws upon a wide variety of data, including network data on the presence of interorganizational partnerships among 168 think tanks spanning Latin America, United States and Western Europe, interview data with think tank directors working across 10 countries, participant observation in events organized in Latin America, and archival sources. I find that the international structure of advocacy networks is polycentric and multilayered, as think tanks develop ties with actors located in multiple countries over time and put different amounts of effort in cultivating these ties depending on their shifting agenda. I term this process Transnational Network Layering and discuss its advantages vis-à-vis current approaches to the study of neoliberal diffusion. Then, I analyze the structure of transnational advocacy networks in Latin America, describing its different layers (global, regional, and national) and showing how organizations attempt to create networking spaces and resources to overcome two main regional problems: a structural lack of funding for non-profits and the frequent instability of right-wing political parties. Finally, I show that despite all think tanks analyzed in my sample are identified as neoliberal, they still have important differences related to the defense of personal values, leading to three main positions: libertarians, liberal-conservatives or center-right, and conservatives. Given the multi-layered structure of advocacy networks, I show that developing interorganizational partnerships among them involves an effort to culturally interpret and translate the political position of their partners to that of their own country. This process of translation can create important mismatches between organizations. Thus, I show that foundations from the Global North often work with local teams that act as mediators who transmit local political knowledge to reduce the chances of a mismatch happening.

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 Presented in Session 174. Interpretation and Social Order