Issue briefs and reports

The economic and social costs of the war in Gaza

By Perrihan Al-Riffai

After a year of war, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and neighboring countries need a permanent ceasefire. But with development gains erased, billions of dollars in infrastructure damaged, and skyrocketing unemployment, the Middle East also urgently needs a solid reconstruction plan.

Finding security in digital public infrastructure

By Justin Sherman

As governments worldwide adopt Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), the need for robust cybersecurity and privacy protections has never been greater. This paper delves into the critical risks and opportunities associated with securing DPI systems. With examples from India, Ukraine, and other nations, it explores how governments are managing data privacy, addressing cyber threats, and building trust in digital services. The paper highlights key considerations for policymakers, including the balance between openness and security, the role of encryption, and the importance of resilience in digital systems. As more nations turn to DPI, ensuring the safety and privacy of citizens' data is essential to creating sustainable, trustworthy digital infrastructures.

How digital public infrastructure can support financial inclusion

By Katherine Hadda and Anit Mukherjee

As digital transformation accelerates, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is at the forefront of the global push for financial inclusion. This paper examines how DPI frameworks, particularly those pioneered in India, are bringing financial services to previously underserved populations.

Capture the (red) flag: An inside look into China’s hacking contest ecosystem

By Dakota Cary and Eugenio Benincasa

China has built the world’s most comprehensive ecosystem for capture-the-flag (CTF) competitions—the predominant form of hacking competitions, which range from team-versus-team play to Jeopardy-style knowledge challenges.

End of the line: The cost of faltering reforms

By Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center and Rhodium Group

The China Pathfinder project examines whether China’s economy is converging or diverging with the world's leading open market economies.

A bipartisan Iran strategy for the next US administration—and the next two decades

As tensions spike in the Middle East, how should the next US president approach Iran and its network of proxies including Hezbollah and Hamas? With a strategy that can be maintained for decades, by administrations of either party. A bipartisan, expert working group lays out the details.

Foreword: A new agenda for the next four years of US-EU relations

By Daniel Fried, Jörn Fleck

The transatlantic partnership, powered by the US-EU relationship, is a geopolitical necessity. From the other side of the world to each other’s backyards and into cyberspace, Washington and Brussels need each other.

Navigating between data war and peace

By Kenneth Propp

A true settlement on transatlantic data flows should be the focus of the next administrations in the United States and the European Union, or the conflict could flare again.

Unleashing US-EU defense cooperation

By Rachel Rizzo

Instead of pushing back against European defense efforts as it has done in the past, Washington must fully embrace the steps the European Union is now taking.

Looking ahead to the next chapter of US-EU digital collaboration

By Frances Burwell

There are opportunities for further transatlantic collaboration, especially in addressing emerging technologies and the risks both sides face from bad actors in the digital sphere.