Architects of Hegemony: The Advocacy Strategies of Free-Market Think Tanks in Latin America

The number of free-market think tanks is increasing rapidly worldwide. From Latin America to Southeast Asia, advocacy networks convene annually to share strategies and cultivate a common identity. While social scientists are aware of such an aggressive expansion of free-market think tanks worldwide, we know little about how these networks operate in practice, and how neoliberal professionals develop successful advocacy strategies. This blind spot is particularly prominent regarding contexts of the Global South, marked by unstable institutions, weaker financial support, and more tumultuous and fragmented party systems. This dissertation provides a unified framework for studying the strategies of free-market think tanks in Latin America, at both the global and local levels. In chapters 2 and 3, I examine the transnational dynamics of advocacy network construction in the self-styled “global freedom movement.” Combining network, interview, archival, and observational data, I explain how think tank professionals form ties across regions and diverse ideological networks. I theorize this as a process of “transnational network layering,” consisting of fluid and multi-directional interorganizational partnerships. In chapters 4 to 7, I compare the interventions of think tank professionals in Chile and Argentina, two countries identified with neoliberal policy resilience and failure, respectively. Drawing upon interviews and archival data, I trace the main field positions and strategies of think tanks during the second half of the twentieth century. I show that early differences in (a) the degree of cohesion in the adaptation of free-market traditions, and (b) the accumulation of policy expertise during authoritarian periods led to divergent advocacy strategies after the democratic transitions. This divergence led think tanks to become more efficient in defending neoliberal policy from further political challenges in Chile than Argentina. These findings contribute to broader discussions in sociological research, including transnational diffusion, global neoliberalism, think tank advocacy, field theory, and civil society.