Analyzing Gender-Based Violence and Gender Stereotypes through the Lens of Conservative Think Tanks: A Comparative Study of America First Policy Institute and Center for Renewing America

Think tanks are «organizations composed of public policy experts, who usually remain on the sidelines of or outside the political arena, representative institutions, and bureaucracies [...] created with the purpose of conducting research, and producing ideas, knowledge, information, and tools aimed at orienting or influencing the decision-making process of specific public policies» (Stone 1996), «public policy research institutes» (Polsby 1984, McGann 1992), «policy planning organization» (Peschek 1987) and «independent public policy research institutes» (Rich 2004). Think tanks originated in the United States more than a century ago. Over the past 50 years, “partisan think tanks” (Kent Weaver, 1989), especially conservative ones, such as the Heritage Foundation in the U.S. or the Institute of Economic Affairs in the UK, have arisen in the U.S. and Europe. In recent years radical right-wing think tanks have emerged, primarily in the United States, such Claremont Institute, America First Policy institute and Center for Renewing America (Struyck 2023). The latter two are labeled as the “Trumpian think tanks” (Struyck 2023). This paper examines how these two conservative think tanks analyze the topics of gender-based violence and gender stereotypes.