The Social Affairs Unit is a right-leaning

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Founded in 1980 as an offshoot of the

Institute of Economic Affairs The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) is a right-wing pressure group and think tank registered as a UK charity Associated with the New Right, the IEA describes itself as an "educational research institute", and says that it seeks to "further ...

, it publishes books on a variety of social issues. Its website notes that "many SAU supporters are inclined to believe that the generation which fought the Second World War were rather too keen on social engineering over the goals of personal responsibility". The Unit published '' Standpoint'' (2008 - 2021), a monthly cultural and political newsstand magazine first edited by Daniel Johnson (2008 - 2018), Michael Mosbacher (2018 - 2019),

Edward Lucas (journalist) Edward Lucas (born 3 May 1962) is a British writer and security specialist. Career Lucas is non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. Until 2018, he was a senior editor at ''The Economist''. He writes a column for ...

(2019 - 2020) and Andreas Campomar (2020 - 2021).

History

The Social Affairs Unit was established in December 1980 as an offshoot of the

, in order to carry the IEA's economic ideas onto the battleground of

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

. "Within a few years the Social Affairs Unit became independent from the IEA, acquiring its own premises."Muller, Christopher (1996), "The institute of economic affairs: Undermining the post-war consensus", ''Contemporary British History'', Volume 10, Issue 1 Spring 1996, pages 88 - 110. p102 Founded in 1980 as a registered charity,Social Affairs Unit

Charity Commission , type = Non-ministerial government department , seal = , seal_caption = , logo = Charity Commission for England and Wales logo.svg , logo_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , ...

, charity number 281530 its founder Chairman was Professor Julius Gould, and its founder Director, Dr. Digby Anderson. Anderson often contributed leading articles to UK national newspapers, was Director from 1980 to 2004, when he retired and was succeeded by Michael Mosbacher.

Funding

Documents released as part of the

Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was entered on November 23, 1998, originally between the four largest United States tobacco companies (Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard – the "original participat ...

showed that the Unit accepted funding from

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco plc (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, England. As of 2019, it is the larg ...

in the 1980s. Legacy Tobacco Documents Librarybr>
http://bat.library.ucsf.edu//tid/jig30a99

/ref>

People

Trustees

* Frank Sharratt *Prof. Simon Green *William Norton

Other

*Director: Michael Mosbacher (2004 - 2019) *Media Fellow: Richard D. North (2004 - 2012)

Advisory Council

*Dr. Digby Anderson *Dr.

Alejandro Chafuen Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...

*Professor

Christie Davies John Christopher Hughes "Christie" Davies (25 December 1941 – 26 August 2017) was a British sociologist, professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Reading, England, the author of many articles and books on criminology, the sociolog ...

(died 2017) *Professor

Adrian Furnham Adrian Frank Furnham (born 3 February 1953) is a South African-born British BPS chartered occupational psychologist and chartered health psychologist. He is currently an adjunct professor at BI Norwegian Business School and professor at Univer ...

*Professor Jacques Garello *Professor

Nathan Glazer Nathan Glazer (February 25, 1923 – January 19, 2019) was an American sociologist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and for several decades at Harvard University. He was a co-editor of the now-defunct policy journal ''The Pu ...

(died 2019) *Dr. Simon Green *Professor

Leonard Liggio Leonard P. Liggio (July 5, 1933 – October 14, 2014) was a classical liberal author, research professor of law at George Mason University and executive vice president of the Atlas Network in Fairfax, Virginia. Career In 1965, Liggio gave lectur ...

(died 2014) *Professor David Martin (died 2019) *Professor Antonio Martino *Professor Michael Novak (died 2017) * John O'Sullivan

Books

* *

References

External links

The Social Affairs Unit
* {{Authority control Political and economic think tanks based in the United Kingdom