Think tanks in transitional China

There is a growing interest in China's think tanks within and outside China. But many questions remain to be answered. How have their roles changed over time? Why are some think tanks more active than others in some areas, but less so in others? To answer such questions, the authors classify China's think tanks according to organisational structure, as a key explanatory concept. A longitudinal review shows that since the 1970s the organisational structure of think tanks has evolved gradually from semi-official to civilian, with the evolving structures playing different roles and complementing one another. Following analysis of four case studies of China's think tanks, two of which are semi-official and two of which are civilian, the article draws a picture of the complex relationship between organisational structure, strategy and behaviour of China's think tanks. Copyright (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.