The role of the think-tank. Freedom and development in the consolidation of neoliberal education in Chile

Abstract

The transformation of the education system under the neoliberal principles of privatisation and
market counted in Chile firstly on the military power of Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990) and
then on the consent of the coalition of centre-left wing parties which governed between 1990 and
2010 without shaking the foundations of the model. The analysis of that process has concentrated
predominantly on the state actors, while less attention have been put on non-state actors. The
goal of this article is presenting the results of an exploratory study of the think-tank ‘Liberty and
Development [Libertad y Desarrollo], so describing and analysing its origins, components,
educational project, and action strategies. It is concluded that the case allows identifying new
forms of education policy-making which are related with the blurriness of the private and public.