For the ambitious Washington think-tanker, nothing makes the pulse race like the idea of attending a small, private roundtable on critical policy issues with important government officials. As it happens, this is a mechanism for the government to exert its influence as much as the other way round.

The occasion is full of intrigue and ritual. An email arrives from some polite underling inviting you to a “confidential, off-the-record” briefing with an impressively titled official – an undersecretary or a special assistant to the president. The thinker’s heart leaps: “They read my article; they finally see the light. I’ll probably be the next national security adviser.”

He clears his schedule and replies that he can squeeze it in. Ground rules are established with an array of staffers, all with titles that include the word “special”. The thinker says nothing directly to colleagues but seeks opportunities to allude to the meeting: “I’d love to come to your roundtable on uncovered interest rate parity but I have a meeting with the deputy secretary of defence.”