This article examines the role that think tanks have played in the formulation of national security and a culture of security through field research conducted on fourteen think tanks located in Istanbul and Ankara. In addition to participant observation at the think tanks twenty-five in-depth interviews were conducted with administrators and specialists. The findings revealed that in terms of their strategic attitudes about national security in Turkey there are three groups of think tanks: critical think tanks middle-position think tanks and congruent think tanks.