 | |
| Formation | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
| 84-2285143 [1] | |
Board Chair | Andrew Bacevich |
| Website | quincyinst |
The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft is an American think tank specializing in foreign policy of the United States. Founded in 2019, the Quincy Institute has been described as advocating realism and restraint in foreign policy.
The organization is located in Washington, D.C., and is named after former US president John Quincy Adams.
The Quincy Institute was co-founded by Andrew Bacevich, a former US Army officer who fought in the Vietnam War and later became a professor of history at Boston University. [2] Bacevich is currently chairman of the board at the Quincy Institute. [3]
Initial funding for the group, launched in November 2019, [4] included half a million dollars each from George Soros' Open Society Foundations and Charles Koch's Koch Foundation. [5] [6] [7] Substantial funding has also come from the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Schumann Center for Media and Democracy. [8] The institute distinguishes itself from many other think tanks in Washington, D.C. by refusing to accept money from foreign governments. [9]
The think tank is named after US President John Quincy Adams who, as secretary of state, said in a speech on July 4, 1821, that the US "goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy." [9] It has been described as "realist" and "promot[ing] an approach to the world based on diplomacy and restraint rather than threats, sanctions, and bombing." [10] [11]
David Klion wrote: "Quincy's founding members say again and again that 9/11 and the Iraq War were turning points in their careers." [9]
The Quincy Institute states that it is a nonprofit research organization and think tank that hosts scholars, participates in debates, publishes analysis pieces by journalists and academics, and advocates for a "less militarized and more cooperative foreign policy". [12] According to its statement of purpose, it is opposed to the military-industrial complex described by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his farewell address. [12]
Co-founder Trita Parsi has described the Quincy Institute as "transpartisan", and, according to The Nation, has described the need for "an alliance of politicians on the left and right who agree on the need for restraint, even if they do so for different reasons". [9] [13] According to Bacevich, the purpose of the institute is to "promote restraint as a central principle of US foreign policy — fewer wars and more effective diplomatic engagement." [14]
According to The Nation, the Quincy Institute founders believe that the existing foreign policy elite is out of step with the American public, which is "far more skeptical of military adventurism". [9] Mother Jones said that the Quincy Institute offers "a rare voice of dissent from foreign policy orthodoxy." [15]
Daniel W. Drezner, writing in The Washington Post , described the institute as a "think tank that advocates a sober version of restraint", and said that it joined the Cato Institute, the Center for the National Interest, and New America "in the heterodox foreign policy basket". [11]
Hal Brands, writing in Bloomberg News, described it as a "well-funded think tank" that is part of the "restraint coalition", a "loose network of analysts, advocates and politicians calling for a sharply reduced US role in the world". [16]
Jay Solomon, writing in The Free Press. described it as "neo-isolationist". [17]
In 2024, the Quincy Institute was one of several organizations that opposed the reauthorization of the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. [18]
Some writers have argued that the agenda of the Quincy Institute is in line with the Trump administration's foreign policy on some issues, such as negotiating with North Korea, but has a different approach from the Trump administration on others, such as US involvement in the war in Yemen. [10] [19]
Writing in Survival , the journal of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Daniel Deudney and John Ikenberry criticized the "restraints" that the Quincy Institute advocates for as "misplaced and inadequate". Deudney and Ikenberry argue that liberal internationalism would offer a more historically effective basis for institution-based restraint, than transactional agreements between states supported by the geopolitical restraint school. [19]
In January 2020, a Republican US senator, Tom Cotton, accused the institute of antisemitism, calling it an "isolationist, blame America First money pit for so-called scholars who've written that American foreign policy could be fixed if only it were rid of the malign influence of Jewish money." [20] [14]
Quincy president Andrew Bacevich described Cotton's claim as absurd. [21] The Jerusalem Post noted that many of its fellows are controversial: Lawrence Wilkerson for his views on what he called the "Jewish lobby", Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer for their account of what they call an "Israel lobby", Paul Villar for his allegations of Republican donors' dual loyalty to Israel, Eli Clifton for calling the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies a mouthpiece for the Israeli government, Chas Freeman for his controversial "Israel lobby" statements and calling American Jews a "fifth column" for Israel, and Trita Parsi who has been accused as serving as a mouthpiece for the Iranian government.
The Post reported that "Eugene Kontorovich, a professor of law at George Mason University, told the Free Beacon that many Quincy scholars have singled out Jews and Israel." [14]
Aris Roussinos of UnHerd called the think tank "isolationist". [22] [ undue weight? – discuss ]
According to an April 2021 article in the conservative Jewish online magazine Tablet , two Quincy Institute fellows rejected the argument that the persecution of Uyghurs in China amounts to a genocide. [23]
In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were two resignations in protest at the institute's dovish response to the conflict: non-resident fellow Joseph Cirincione of Ploughshares Fund, who had raised money for Quincy, and board member Paul Eaton, a retired senior Army major officer and adviser to Democratic politicians and liberal advocacy groups. Cirincione said he "fundamentally" disagrees with Quincy experts who "completely ignore the dangers and the horrors of Russia's invasion and occupation and focus almost exclusively on criticism of the United States, NATO, and Ukraine". Eaton said he resigned because he "supports NATO". [15] [24] Parsi responded by saying that Cirincione's criticisms "were not only false but bewildering," and were easily disproved by "a quick glance at our website." [15]
The Quincy Institute's co-founders include: [12]
Notable affiliated experts include: [25]
A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental organizations, but some are semi-autonomous agencies within a government, and some are associated with particular political parties, businesses, or the military. Think tanks are often funded by individual donations, with many also accepting government grants.
The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries. Cato was established to focus on public advocacy, media exposure, and societal influence.
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global economy, and economic development.
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a US-based grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the stated aim of advancing justice, education, public health and independent media. The group's name was inspired by Karl Popper's 1945 book The Open Society and Its Enemies.
The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. CAP is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal. It has links to think tanks worldwide through the Economic Freedom Network and is a member of the free-market Atlas Network.
Dennis B. Ross is an American diplomat and author. He served as the Director of Policy Planning in the State Department under President George H. W. Bush, the special Middle East coordinator under President Bill Clinton, and was a special adviser for the Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ross is currently a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank, and co-chairs the Jewish People Policy Institute's board of directors.
Atlas Network, formerly known as Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking, and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups around the world.
Andrew J. Bacevich Jr. is an American historian specializing in international relations, security studies, American foreign policy, and American diplomatic and military history. He is a professor emeritus of international relations and history at the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. He is also a retired career officer in the Armor Branch of the United States Army, retiring with the rank of colonel. He is a former director of Boston University's Center for International Relations, now part of the Pardee School of Global Studies. Bacevich is the co-founder and president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), also known simply as The Washington Institute (TWI), is a pro-Israel American think tank based in Washington, D.C., focused on the foreign policy of the United States in the Near East.
Joseph Cirincione (, SIR-in-see-OWN-ee is a national security analyst and author. He served as the president of the Ploughshares Fund, a public grant-making foundation focused on nuclear nonproliferation and conflict resolution.
The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in Sydney, Australia.
William D. Hartung is an American political scientist and author. He is a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, where his work focuses on the arms industry and U.S. military budget.
George Soros is an American investor and philanthropist. As of October 2023, he had a net worth of US$6.7 billion, having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundations, of which $15 billion has already been distributed, representing 64% of his original fortune. In 2020, Forbes called Soros the "most generous giver" in terms of percentage of net worth. He is a resident of New York.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government, and funded by the Australian Department of Defence along with overseas governments, and defence and technology companies.
The Begin–Sadat Center for Strategic Studies is an Israeli think tank affiliated with Bar-Ilan University and supported by the NATO Mediterranean Initiative, conducting policy-relevant research on Middle Eastern and global strategic affairs, particularly as they relate to the national security and foreign policy of Israel and regional peace and stability. The center's mission is to contribute to promoting peace and security in the Middle East, through policy-oriented researches on national security in the Middle East. It is located at the Social Sciences Faculty of Bar-Ilan University. The center was founded by Thomas Hecht, a Canadian-Jewish leader, and was dedicated to Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, who signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the first peace agreement ever signed between Israel and an Arab country.
The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decision-makers, activists and influencers to share ideas. ECFR builds coalitions for change at the European level and promotes informed debate about Europe's role in the world. ECFR has offices in Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Warsaw and Sofia.
The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is a think tank in Washington, D.C. specializing in United States national security issues, including terrorism, irregular warfare, the future of the U.S. military, the emergence of Asia as a global power center, war games pitting the U.S. against the People's Republic of China, and the national security implications of natural resource consumption, among others.
Charles de Ganahl Koch is an American billionaire businessman. As of February 2024, he was ranked as the 23rd richest man in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated net worth of $64.9 billion. Koch has been co-owner, chairman, and chief executive officer of Koch Industries since 1967, while his late brother David Koch served as executive vice president. Charles and David each owned 42% of the conglomerate. The brothers inherited the business from their father, Fred C. Koch, then expanded the business. Koch Industries is the largest privately held company by revenue in the United States, according to Forbes.
The Defense Priorities Foundation, also known as Defense Priorities, is an American foreign policy think tank based in Washington, D.C., that advocates for more restrained US foreign policy.
as we near our public launch in November!
The institute is proudly not progressive; it prefers to call itself "transpartisan." Its experts often align with the anti-militarist worldview shared by many progressive Democrats and libertarians, a coalition that is reflected in the organization's primary funders: George Soros and Charles Koch.
Writing for the isolationist Quincy Institute think tank, the strategic analyst Anatol Lieven
