The traditional think tank is withering. In its place? Bankers and consultants.

[Commentary] Anybody who works in Washington knows that think tanks play an important role in advising the government on policy. In the foreign policy community, think tanks are widely viewed as the traditional brokers in the marketplace of ideas. But this is changing. Whether based in investment banks like Goldman Sachs, management consultancies like McKinsey or political risk firms like the Eurasia Group, private-sector institutions have started to act like policy knowledge brokers. Consultants have been key advisers to the government for decades, but recent trends have caused their star to rise at the same time that traditional think tanks face new challenges. While for-profit intellectuals make valuable contributions, it would be problematic if they crowded out traditional think tanks.

[Daniel Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University]