Issue briefs and reports

North Macedonia on the threshold of Europe

By Damir Marusic, Dimitar Bechev

This report outlines the myriad challenges that face North Macedonia as it struggles to chart a path forward on EU accession and calls for Western leaders—especially those in Europe—to consider how they can be more productively and strategically engaged.

Spotlight: The Biden-Harris Administration and the future of supply chains in the Americas

By Juan Carlos Baker, Maurice Bellan, Christina Conlin, Kerry Contini, Reagan Demas, Ildefonso Guajardo, Landon Loomis, Jason Marczak, Manuel Padrón-Castillo, Anne Petterd, Shunko Rojas, Lisa Schroeter, Alison J. Stafford Powell, Joyce Smith, Jennifer Trock, Omar Vargas, Carlos Alberto Vela-Treviño

The month of November 2020 marked a turning point for the United States as voters cast their ballots at rates not recently seen in a US election. The historic race saw around 65 percent of the voting population in the United States participating, the highest in more than one hundred years. With three hundred and […]

El potencial de los yacimientos no convencionales en Colombia

By John D. Padilla

El informe, escrito por John D. Padilla, analiza los diversos temas globales y locales que repercutirán y determinarán si se puede llevar a cabo el desarrollo sostenible de los recursos de lutita en Colombia.

Moving Beyond COVID-19: Vaccines and Other Policy Considerations in Latin America

By Pepe Zhang

Parts of Latin America and the Caribbean have become COVID-19 hot spots. With 8 percent of the world’s population, the region accounts for nearly one-third of all COVID-19 infections and deaths as of late November. Although new infections have slowed on a regional level, ongoing second or third pandemic waves across Europe and the United States could be a sign of things to come.

The future of the United States dollar

By Michael Greenwald

The US economy and the power of the dollar have been unmatched since the time of the Bretton Woods agreement. The privilege of having the dollar serve as the global reserve currency enables the United States to weaponize its currency and leverage effective sanctions on rogue nations such as North Korea and Iran. However, some […]

Democratic offense against disinformation

While democratic states have made great progress in defending against disinformation and foreign interference, this report suggests it is time to go on the offensive to stop bad information actors in their tracks.

The Five Revolutions: Examining defense innovation in the Indo-Pacific region

By Tate Nurkin

The Indo-Pacific region has become a center of gravity for innovation in defense technologies and emerging military capabilities. This report explores major drivers of modernization and advances a new framework to capture defense technology and investment efforts in the region.

Japan’s nuclear reactor fleet: The geopolitical and climate implications of accelerated decommissioning

By Phyllis Yoshida

Atlantic Council Global Energy Center senior fellow Dr. Phyllis Yoshida discusses the unintended consequences of Japan's decision to decommission part of its nuclear reactor fleet in her new report.

African agency in the new Cold War: Traditional power competition in the post-COVID-19 African landscape

By Bronwyn Bruton

In a resource-scarce post-COVID environment that will accelerate competition between traditional external powers on the African continent, some African nations will find themselves in the crosshairs of a new Cold War mentality that could threaten African agency, regionalization, and the blooming ethos of pan-Africanism. African leaders' pursuit of collective interests will be decisive in setting the continent’s trajectory—toward a new African Century, or another period of thwarted ambitions.