Brookings Institution

[22] Brookings was founded in 1916 as the Institute for Government Research (IGR), with the mission of becoming "the first private organization devoted to analyzing public policy issues at the national level.

[5][26] During the Great Depression, economists at Brookings embarked on a large-scale study commissioned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to understand its underlying causes.

[27] With the U.S. entry into World War II in 1941, Brookings researchers turned their attention to aiding the administration with a series of studies on mobilization.

[31] G. Gordon Liddy and the White House Plumbers actually made a plan to firebomb the headquarters and steal classified files, but it was canceled because the Nixon administration refused to pay for a fire engine as a getaway vehicle.

[33] In 1976, after Gordon died, Gilbert Y. Steiner, director of the governmental studies program, was appointed the fourth president of the Brookings Institution by the board of trustees.

[34][35] As director of the governmental studies program, Steiner brought in numerous scholars whose research ranges from administrative reform to urban policy, not only enhancing the program's visibility and influence in Washington and nationally, but also producing works that have arguably survived as classics in the field of political science.

[37] The need to reduce the federal budget deficit became a major research theme, as did problems with national security and government inefficiency.

[39] In 1995, Michael Armacost became the sixth president of the Brookings Institution and led an effort to refocus its mission heading into the 21st century.

[52] The books and journals it publishes include Brookings Papers on Economic Activity,[53] Brookings Review (1982–2003, ISSN 0745-1253),[54][55] America Unbound: The Bush Revolution in Foreign Policy, Globalphobia: Confronting Fears about Open Trade, India: Emerging Power, Through Their Eyes, Taking the High Road, Masses in Flight, US Public Policy Regarding Sovereign Wealth Fund Investment in the United States[56] and Stalemate.

In addition, books, papers, articles, reports, policy briefs and opinion pieces are produced by Brookings research programs, centers, projects and, for the most part, by experts.

A 2005 UCLA study concluded it was "centrist" because it was referenced as an authority almost equally by both conservative and liberal politicians in congressional records from 1993 to 2002.

[85][86] Brookings scholars have served in Republican and Democratic administrations, including Mark McClellan,[87] Ron Haskins[88] and Martin Indyk.

Aside from political figures, the board of trustees includes leaders in business and industry, including Haim Saban, Robert Bass, Hanzade Doğan Boyner, Paul L. Cejas, W. Edmund Clark, Abby Joseph Cohen, Betsy Cohen, Susan Crown, Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., Jason Cummins, Paul Desmarais Jr., Kenneth M. Duberstein, Glenn Hutchins, and Philip H. Knight (chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc).

[102] John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, in their 2006 article[103] wrote: "To be sure, the Saban Centre occasionally hosts Arab scholars and exhibits some diversity of opinion.

But Saban Center publications never question US support for Israel and rarely, if ever, offer significant criticism of key Israeli policies.

It ‘distorts’ American foreign policy, it ‘bends’ it, all these words are used to suggest that this cabal is doing something anti-American.”[105] Another fellow wrote that the authors' book "will pale in comparison [to other academic works] because the only way it can become an esteemed classic is if its underlying thesis is correct: that a domestic political lobby drives U.S. policy in the Middle East.

Domestic politics and lobbying do matter when it comes to matters of tone and timing, but as Aaron David Miller, a veteran American peace-process diplomat, puts it...: “I can’t remember a single decision of consequence American peace process advisers made, or one we didn’t, that was directly tied to some lobbyist’s call, letter, or pressure tactic.”[106] In a September 17, 2014, article in Tablet, Lee Smith criticized the center for accepting substantial donations from the Qatari government, "a foreign government that, in addition to its well-documented role as a funder of Sunni terror outfits throughout the Middle East, is the main patron of Hamas—which happens to be the mortal enemy of both the State of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party."

He suggested that the donations influenced the center's research analysis and Martin Indyk's statements as a State Department official and peace mediator.

[107] Brookings responded: "A review of publications and media appearances by our scholars in Doha and in Washington—all of which are available at Brookings.edu—demonstrate the same independence of thinking and objective, fact-based analysis about Qatar as on every other topic of our research.

[116] The Times published documents showing that Brookings accepted grants from Norway with specific policy requests and helped it gain access to U.S. government officials, as well as other "deliverables".

[118] The government of Qatar was named by The New York Times as "the single biggest foreign donor to Brookings", reportedly contributing $14.8 million over a four-year period.

[116] Brookings officials denied any connection between the views of their funders and their scholars' work, citing reports that questioned the Qatari government's education reform efforts and criticized its support of militants in Syria.

In 2009, Brookings acquired a building across the street, a former mansion built by the Ingalls family in 1922 on a design by Jules Henri de Sibour.

Robert S. Brookings , who founded the Brookings Institution in 1916
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev speaking at the Brookings Institution in April 2010
José María Figueres , former president of Costa Rica , speaking at Brookings Institution in March 2012
Adm. Michael Mullen speaks at the Brookings Institution in April 2007.