This thesis argues that think tanks nurture public policy debate, which enhances the overall legitimacy of civil society in non-democratic settings. A focus on think tanks also emphasises the importance of civil society as a non-confrontational forum rather than an antagonist of a non-democratic regime. Empirically, the thesis draws on the work of think-tanks in the areas of local self-government and budget transparency in Azerbaijan between 2003 and 2014. The case studies are analysed through a matrix of think-tank strategies and activities, which is a development of Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework. The findings show that, although think tanks had a very limited impact on immediate public policy change, the process they led through interaction and policy education activities in the agenda-setting process, nurtured an alternative public policy debate. These positive effects of the non-confrontational activities of the civil society in Azerbaijan have important implications for democracy promotion policy and the concept of civil society, in general.