I've often wondered why the think tanks I've noticed seemingly focused on research to argue for an authoritarian policy, rather research that calls into question problems with that kind of policy and how to replace it. In my view, that's not 'thinking' with the best specialists, but instead a form of consultancy to justify political ends. Those are however the think tanks I've noticed, which have been the federally funded ones in the US. Indeed in 2016,

In response to scrutiny about think tanks appearing to have a 'conflict of interest' or lack transparency.

It also surprises me that, in 2007,

The FAIR report reveals the ideological breakdown of the citations: 37% conservative, 47% centrist, and 16% liberal.

I doubt that's a 'fair' accounting, however.