Prospect (magazine)
 | This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. (February 2017) |
| Editor | Tom Clark |
|---|---|
| Categories | Politics, world affairs, arts and culture |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Total circulation (December 2017) | 44,670[1] |
| First issue | October 1995 |
| Company | Prospect Publishing Ltd |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | London |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 1359-5024 |
Prospect is a monthly British general interest magazine, specialising in politics, economics and current affairs. Topics include British, European, and US politics, social issues, art, literature, cinema, science, the media, history, philosophy, and psychology. It features a mixture of lengthy analytic articles, first-person reportage, one-page columns, and shorter, quirky items.
The magazine was launched in October 1995 by David Goodhart, then a senior correspondent for the Financial Times, and chairman Derek Coombs. Goodhart came up with the idea of producing an essay-based monthly general interest magazine—a form then unknown in Britain—while covering German reunification as Bonn correspondent for the FT.
Contributors include Lionel Shriver, A. C. Grayling, Gordon Brown, Mohamed ElBaradei, Michael Lind, Michael Ignatieff, Geoff Dyer, Francis Fukuyama, Roger Scruton, Andrew Marr, John Kay, and J. M. Coetzee. Notable features of the magazine include head-to-head debates between two writers with opposing views on a subject; roundtable discussions, in which a series of experts with varying views on a given topic meet for a discussion, an edited transcript of which is published in the magazine; and interviews with major political and cultural figures (examples include Orhan Pamuk, Paul Wolfowitz, and Hilary Mantel).
Prospect received worldwide attention in October 2005 when it published its list of the world's top 100 public intellectuals, which included Noam Chomsky, Umberto Eco, Richard Dawkins, Steven Pinker and Christopher Hitchens. The magazine asked readers to vote for their top intellectual from the longlist; Chomsky was the eventual winner. Subsequent lists have continued to attract attention. Dawkins claimed the top spot in 2013.
Prospect has also published the winning short story of the Royal Society of Literature's V. S. Pritchett Memorial Prize since 2009.
Policy positions
The magazine prizes independence over ideology and its articles and authors span the political spectrum. It tends to avoid a "line" on specific policy issues. Perhaps its strongest leaning is "contrarian"—it devotes much space to articles debunking the "popular wisdom", on topics ranging from Japan's alleged economic crisis to the Mahdi army in Iraq.[original research?] However, it has been described as left-leaning by the BBC,[2] and the Prospect contributor Roger Scruton.[3]
In August 2009 in a roundtable interview in Prospect, Adair Turner supported the idea of new global taxes on financial transactions, warning that a "swollen" financial sector paying excessive salaries has grown too big for society. Turner's suggestion that a "Tobin tax", named after the economist James Tobin, should be considered for financial transactions drew international attention.
In recent years[when?] the magazine's founding editor, David Goodhart, has stirred controversy with a series of articles arguing that the increasing diversity of the United Kingdom may weaken the bonds of solidarity on which the welfare state depends. The debate fed into the broader discussions of "Britishness" that have become increasingly common in the public sphere.
The Think Tank Awards
Prospect holds the annual Think Tank Awards, which celebrate and reward the work of think tanks on a national and global scale. The awards are supported by Shell. Categories include 'Global Think Tank of the Year', 'Publication of the Year', 'North American Think Tank of the Year', 'European Think Tank of the Year' (excluding Britain), 'UK Think Tank of the Year', and many sub-categories for the UK. According to the official website, "The awards are judged by a cross-party panel looking for evidence of influence on public policy and on the public discourse. The judges will also consider the quality of research and potential of younger and smaller organisations." The awards have been running since 2001, and have been expanding exponentially to include more global awards for international Think Tanks. The winner of the most recent 2017 Think Tank awards (held at the Institute of Directors on 10 July) was the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, based in the UK, for its "very strong analytical appraisal of social conditions in Britain".
Previous winners:
2017[4] North America Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Peterson Institute for International Economics; North America Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: New America (organization); North America Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Climate Interactive; North America International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Freedom House; EU Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Bruegel; EU Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: SNS EU Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Nansen Institute; EU International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: The Casimir Pulaski Foundation; UK Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Institute for Fiscal Studies; UK Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Chatham House; UK International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Centre for European Reform; UK Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: Joseph Rowntree Foundation; One-to-Watch Think Tank of the Year: Inter-American Dialogue; UK Think Tank of the Year: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
2016: North America Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Peterson Institute for International Economics; North America Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: RAND Corporation; North America Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Center for Climate and Energy Solutions; North America International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Copenhagen Consensus Center; EU Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Bruegel; EU Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Institute for European Environmental Policy; EU International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Carnegie Europe; UK Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Institute for Fiscal Studies; UK Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Chatham House; UK International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Chatham House; UK Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: RSA; One-to-Watch Think Tank of the Year: UK in a Changing Europe; UK Think Tank of the Year: Chatham House
2015: North America Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Bipartisan Policy Center; North America Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: New America (organization); North America Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: RAND Corporation; North America International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Brookings Institution; EU Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Bruegel; EU Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: SNS; EU Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Centre for European Policy Studies; EU International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: European Council on Foreign Relations; UK Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Institute for Fiscal Studies; UK Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: IPPR; UK International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: Centre for European Reform; UK Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: Resolution Foundation; One-to-Watch Think Tank of the Year: British Future; UK Think Tank of the Year: Institute for Fiscal Studies
2014: UK Economic & Financial Think Tank of the Year: Institute for Fiscal Studies; UK Energy & Environment Think Tank of the Year: Chatham House; UK International Affairs Think Tank of the Year: European Council on Foreign Relations; UK Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: IPPR; One to watch: Higher Education Policy Institute; North America Think Tank of the Year: Inter-American Dialogue; European Think Tank of the Year: Carnegie Europe; UK Think Tank of the Year: Institute for Fiscal Studies
2013: UK Think Tank of the Year: Resolution Foundation; European Think Tank of the Year: Istituto Bruno Leoni; North American Think Tank of the Year: Third Way; International Publication of the Year: “Press Freedom in Turkey”; UK Energy and the environment Think Tank of the Year: Institute of Economic Affairs; UK Social Policy Think Tank of the Year: Centre for Social Justice; UK Economic and Financial Think Tank of the Year: CentreForum & Policy Exchange
2012: Global Think Tank of the Year: Bruegel UK Think Tank of the Year: Social Market Foundation. Publication of the Year: Resolution Foundation, “The Essential Guide to Squeezed Britain”. North America Think Tank of the Year: Carnegie Endowment; Runner-up: Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments Europe (excluding UK) Think Tank of the Year: Bruegel (Brussels); Runner-up: Institute of Modern Politics (Sofia)
2011: Winner: National Institute of Economic and Social Research, for scrutiny of the government's economic strategy. Runner up: the King's Fund, for work on NHS reforms. International think tank of the year: Peterson Institute for International Economics: for coverage of the financial crisis. Runner up: Bruegel, for coverage of the eurozone. Publication of the year: Reform: “Every teacher matters”. Best foreign affairs think tank based in the UK: Joint award: Chatham House: for work on Yemen, and RUSI, for work on the Strategic Defence Review and China. One to Watch: Media Standards Trust, for the “Hacked Off” campaign and media scrutiny.
2010: (The judging panel for the 2010 awards this year was chaired by Ben Rogers, associate fellow of the IPPR and Demos, and included Kishwer Falkner, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for the ministry of justice in the House of Lords; David Goodhart, Prospect editor-at-large; James Crabtree, Financial Times comment editor and Rohan Silva, senior adviser to David Cameron.)
Winner: the Institute for Government. Publication: Making Housing Affordable by Alex Morton of Policy Exchange. International: European Council on Foreign Relations. One to Watch: ResPublica.
2009: (The panel of 2009 consisted of Baroness Falkner (Liberal Democrat peer), David Halpern (the Institute for Government and former advisor to Tony Blair), Rohan Silva (special advisor to George Osborne MP), David Walker (the Audit Commission), and Prospect’s editor, David Goodhart, and managing editor, James Crabtree. A fuller report is here.[5])
Winner (jointly awarded): Centre for Social Justice and Institute for Fiscal Studies One to watch: Demos International: RUSI Climate change: IPPR Publication: Centre Forum, “A Balancing Act: Fair Solutions to a modern debt crisis”.
2008: (David Walker again chaired of the panel of judges—read his speech here.[6])
Winner: RUSI Runner-up: Institute for Fiscal Studies Publication: Centre for Social Justice, “Breakthrough Britain—ending the costs of social breakdown”.
2007: (David Walker chaired the panel of judges—read his speech here.[7])
Winner: IPPR Runner-up: Centre Forum. International tank: Centre for European Reform Runner-up international: RIIA.
2006: Winner: Policy Exchange Runner-up: Young Foundation Publication: King's Fund, "Securing Good Care for Old People”. Website: Demos
2005: Winner: Institute for Fiscal Studies Runner-up: Civitas One to watch: Overseas Development Institute Publication: Policy Exchange, “Unaffordable Housing: Fables and Myths”. Website: The Climate Group.
2004: Winner: New Local Government Network. One to watch: Policy Exchange Publication: Centre for European Reform, “Old Europe? Demographic Change and Pension Reform”.
2003: Winner: Centre for European Reform One to watch: Catalyst Publication: Civitas, “Do we need Mass Immigration?”
2002: Winner: New Economics Foundation. One to watch: Civitas Publication: IPPR, “A New Contract for Retirement”.
2001: Winner: IPPR Runner-up: New Economics Foundation. One to watch: Scottish Council Foundation Publication: Fabian Society, “Paying for Progress”.
References
- ^ Product Page – ABC – Prospect
- ^ Landale, James (February 20, 2006). "'Huge risks' of Cameron strategy". BBC News. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ Scruton, Roger (December 7, 2010). "Multiculturalism, R.I.P." The American Spectator. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ^ "The Think Tank Awards 2017: Who Won?". prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
- ^ "Prospect Think Tank of the Year: The Winners". prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ "Prospect think tank of the year award 2008". prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- ^ "The year in think tankery". prospectmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
- David Goodhart (editor), Thinking Allowed: The Best of Prospect, 1995–2005, Atlantic Books, 2005. ISBN 978-1-84354-481-4
