Issue briefs and reports

Issue briefs and reports

Our programs and centers deliver in-depth, highly relevant issue briefs and reports that break new ground, shift opinions, and set agendas on public policy, with a focus on advancing debates by integrating foundational research and analysis with concrete policy solutions.

Countering Russian aggression in Eastern Europe

Report Mar 30, 2026

How the West lost the post-Cold War era

By Brian Whitmore

The latest Atlantic Council Eurasia Center report examines the lessons from the post-Cold War period and what the United States and its allies can do to counter Russian revanchism today.
Europe & Eurasia Politics & Diplomacy
Countering Russian aggression in Eastern Europe

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Feb 10, 2026

Global Foresight 2036

In this year’s Global Foresight edition, our experts share findings from our survey of geostrategists on how human affairs could unfold over the next decade. Our scholars spot “snow leopards” that could have major unexpected impacts over the next decade. And our tech experts put AI’s forecasting ability to the test.
Africa Central Asia
Countering Russian aggression in Eastern Europe

Issue Brief Mar 19, 2026

Federal agencies under pressure need smarter systems, not tougher people

By Caitlin Thompson

Resilience is an important trait for national security practitioners, but it is not a solution for problems with agency and department design. Better systems and strategies can ensure that individuals are fully prepared and ready to respond to crises, rather than consistently under strain.
National Security Resilience

Content

Issue Brief

Jun 3, 2016

Countering Russian aggression in Eastern Europe

By JONATHAN P. DUNNE

The past decade has witnessed a marked increase in Russian aggression and assertiveness. Many Eastern European nations, the Baltic States in particular, have recognized this disturbing and fundamental change in the European security environment and are responding both nationally and multilaterally. In “Countering Russian Aggression in Eastern Europe,” Jonathan P. Dunne, the Scowcroft Center’s US […]

Eastern Europe NATO

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series

Jun 2, 2016

Shape, steer, and sustain: a US strategy for the new global economic order

By Robert D. Hormats

Ten years ago, most observers predicted a period of smooth sailing for the world economy. Today, the world looks very different. To better deal with this new global economic environment, the United States requires a new strategy for the twenty-first century. That strategy should enable the country to shape, steer, and sustain a new global economic order that accomplishes several key objectives underpinning prosperity and stability for greater numbers of Americans.

China Economy & Business

Report

Jun 1, 2016

A transatlantic strategy for a democratic Tunisia

By Frances G. Burwell, Amy Hawthorne, Karim Mezran, and Elissa Miller

Five years after Tunisia’s revolution, which ousted longtime authoritarian ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and put the country on the path towards nascent democracy, democratic and economic reforms have stalled. Following the revolution, the United States, the European Union (EU), and EU member states—namely France, Germany, and the United Kingdom—substantially boosted assistance to Tunisia. […]

Democratic Transitions North Africa

Issue Brief

May 26, 2016

Cyber, extended deterrence, and NATO

By Franklin D. Kramer, Robert J. Butler, and Catherine Lotrionte

Cyber is relevant in conflict as well as in lesser circumstances such as espionage and crime. This paper focuses on a conflict, both conventional and hybrid, with an adversary, such as Russia, that has advanced cyber capabilities (Tier V/VI as designated by the Defense Science Board) and includes a conflict with an improving, but less capable nation-state such as Iran.

Cybersecurity Europe & Eurasia

Report

May 25, 2016

Pacific Alliance 2.0: Next Steps in Integration

By Jason Marczak and Samuel George, with María Fernanda Pérez Argüello, Andrea Saldarriaga Jiménez

The Pacific Alliance–an innovative pact among Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru–has unprecedented opportunity to capitalize on political changes in Brazil and Argentina and move the region into a new era of regional integration. A new publication by the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center and the Bertelsmann Foundation, released just weeks ahead of the […]

Mexico

Issue Brief

May 11, 2016

Will Iran’s Human Rights Record Improve?

By Barbara Slavin

Read the Publication (PDF) In the aftermath of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a major question has been whether the landmark nuclear deal would have any impact on Iran’s other policies, including its record on human rights. While US President Barack Obama’s administration stressed that in negotiating the JCPOA its focus was on […]

Issue Brief

May 11, 2016

Congo blues: Scoring Kabila’s rule

By Pierre Englebert

Across Africa, leaders are tinkering with term limits and prolonging their tenures. In an increasingly unstable Central African region, Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), appears poised to be the next African leader to sidestep the relinquishing of power and the election of his successor, constitutionally mandated for November 2016. […]

Africa Civil Society

Report

May 10, 2016

Last Call for TTIP: The Views of European Diplomats in Washington, DC

By Marie Kasperek and Andrea Montanino

After more than three years of negotiations to forge a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), many elements of the agreement are still far from settled. However, it is possible to reach agreement in 2016. The negotiators are determined, and there is mounting awareness that an agreement that underscores the importance of the transatlantic economic […]

Economy & Business European Union

Issue Brief

May 10, 2016

NATO’s hollowing values agenda

By Stanley Sloan

When NATO leaders convene for the Warsaw summit this July, their agenda will be dominated by external threats—from an aggressive Russia, to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), to the refugee crisis that has spread from the Middle East and North Africa throughout Europe. Yet an equally important issue, though not explicitly on […]

Issue Brief

May 6, 2016

NATO’s next consortium: Maritime patrol aircraft

By Magnus Nordenman

Airborne systems to provide MDA, and maritime patrol aircraft (MPAs) in particular, stand out among the most important and urgent maritime requirements. Maritime patrol aircraft fulfill a number of roles, from high-end Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) to maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), and search and rescue at sea. NATO members must now recapture these capabilities and invest in a robust maritime patrol aircraft fleet.

Europe & Eurasia Maritime Security
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