Editing Chatham House (section)

== Reactions ==
Chatham House has been criticized for its perceived [[elitism]], lacking transparency in funding, and alignment with [[Interventionism (politics)|Western interventionism]]. Scholars have noted that the think tank is operated by political, academic, and corporate elites.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Medina-Iborra |first=Ivan |date=March 24, 2015 |title=Visibility and activity: foreign affairs think tanks in the United Kingdom |url=https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/bitstream/handle/10871/16602/4-Medina-Guttormsen_AcceptedArticle_PoliticalPerspectivesSI_20121.pdf |website=University of Exeter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parmar |first=Inderjeet |date=2002-04-01 |title=Anglo-American Elites in the Interwar Years: Idealism and Power in the Intellectual Roots of Chatham House and the Council on Foreign Relations |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0047117802016001005 |journal=International Relations |language=EN |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=53–75 |doi=10.1177/0047117802016001005 |issn=0047-1178|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The ''[[Financial Times]]'' has questioned the organization's limited disclosure of funding sources, particularly in comparison to European counterparts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=British think-tanks ‘less transparent about sources of funding’ |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ae6968c4-b5ec-11e4-b58d-00144feab7de |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=www.ft.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> In one instance, the ''[[The Bureau of Investigative Journalism|Bureau of Investigative Journalism]]'' revealed that a report published by Chatham House was authored by a lobbyist with undisclosed financial interests in the subject matter, highlighting issues with Chatham House's editorial independence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-12 |title=Chatham House’s independent expert is lobbyist {{!}} TBIJ |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512135811/https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2011-12-08/chatham-houses-independent-expert-is-lobbyist |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=web.archive.org}}</ref> Critics have also argued that the institution has historically supported interventionist foreign policy positions, especially in relation to the [[Iraq War]] and [[Enlargement of NATO|NATO expansion]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Holmes |first=Flora |date=January 1, 2020 |title=Public Attitudes to UK Military Interventionism |url=https://bfpg.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Public-Attitudes-to-Military-Intervention-1.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Michael |date=March 1, 2021 |title=What do Think Tanks do? Chatham House in search of the United States |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350334875_What_do_Think_Tanks_do_Chatham_House_in_search_of_the_United_States |website=London School of Economics and Political Science}}</ref> The organization's confidentiality rule, famously known as the [[Chatham House Rule]], has been criticized for allowing influential participants to shape public discourse from behind closed doors while limiting public accountability and scrutiny.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sanburn |first=Josh |date=2016-06-09 |title=The World’s Most Powerful and Secret Group, Explained |url=https://time.com/4362872/bilderberg-group-meetings-2016-conspiracy-theories/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-01-11 |title=Why is every Bay Area event imposing Chatham House Rules? |url=https://sfstandard.com/2025/01/11/chatham-house-rule-burnout/ |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=The San Francisco Standard |language=en}}</ref> Some commentators argue that the rule obscures power dynamic, shields controversial statements, and hinders transparency.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-09 |title=The Chatham House Should Not Rule |url=https://kendraalbert.com/chatamhouse |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=Kendra Albert |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Additionally, critics have highlighted the organization's early 20th-century role in reinforcing [[colonialism]], noting that its foundations were closely linked to [[British imperialism]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ba |first=Oumar |date=2024-04-03 |title=Now what? |url=https://www.duckofminerva.com/2024/04/now-what.html |access-date=2025-05-12 |website=The Duck of Minerva |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=Paul |date=2003-03-01 |title=A Commonwealth of Knowledge: Empire, Intellectuals and the Chatham House                Project, 1919–1939 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00471178030171003 |journal=International Relations |language=EN |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=35–58 |doi=10.1177/00471178030171003 |issn=0047-1178|url-access=subscription }}</ref>