This article belongs to the special cluster, “Think Tanks in Central and Eastern Europe”, guest-edited by Katarzyna Jezierska and Serena Giusti.

This article explores the image and reputation of think tanks in their reciprocal relationship with their environment. The aim is to unravel the logic of think tanks’ institutional identity formation in the largely understudied context of Poland. How do Polish think tanks present themselves and how are they (re)presented by others? To answer these questions, the Goffmanian microsociological framework and positioning theory are adjusted to a study of institutions. The analysis of original interview and media data reveals that Polish think tanks project an image of and are perceived by the media as being weak. I argue that this image and reputation of weakness should primarily be explained by think tanks’ and the media’s perceptions of the political field, which confine the possible identity and positioning of think tanks.

本文属于由Katarzyna Jezierska和Serena Giusti特邀编辑的特殊集群“中欧和东欧的智囊团”。

本文探讨了智囊团与环境之间相互关系的形象和声誉。目的是在波兰人尚未充分研究的背景下，阐明智库机构身份形成的逻辑。波兰智囊团如何展示自己，以及别人如何（重新）展示它们？为了回答这些问题，对戈夫曼微观社会学框架和定位理论进行了调整，以进行制度研究。对原始采访和媒体数据的分析表明，波兰智囊团投射出一种形象，并被媒体认为是虚弱的。我认为，这种弱势形象和声誉应首先由智囊团和媒体对政治领域的看法来解释，这将限制智囊团的可能身份和定位。