• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.67 no.2
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• pp.259-284
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• 2015

This case study is to identify the role and strategies of think tanks in Britain which have shown institutional initiative in global welfare paradigm such as the establishment of welfare state, Thatcherism, and the Third Way. Fabian Society, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), and Policy Exchange (PX) were selected for the research, and seven staff members from these think tanks were interviewed while their relevant publications were gathered and analyzed. As a result, the role of each think tank in welfare paradigm change were presented as well as strategic similarities were found: distinguished idea on the relationship between economy and welfare, adherence to independence based on their values, and strategic communication with diverse routs. However, there was also strategic difference between the first round and the second in the history. In the first round between Fabian Society and IEA, building a space for discussion based on new paradigm was the key, while in the second round between IPPR and PX, producing a set of alternative policies was the main task for them. This British example may provide useful implication to Korea, in which political debate on social welfare still just focus on individual pledges competition and the role of think tank is highly limited.