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.

Biometrics at the border: Balancing security, convenience, and civil liberties

Russia Tomorrow Feb 18, 2026

Negotiating with Putin’s Russia

By Donald N. Jensen, Iuliia Osmolovska

The latest report in the Atlantic Council’s Russia Tomorrow examines Russia’s negotiating tactics and how the US can adjust its diplomatic strategies in turn.
Disinformation Eastern Europe
Biometrics at the border: Balancing security, convenience, and civil liberties

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
Biometrics at the border: Balancing security, convenience, and civil liberties

In-Depth Research & Reports Feb 26, 2026

The state of great power competition in the Gulf

By Jonathan Fulton

This issue brief examines Gulf states’ strategic positioning amid shifting global power dynamics, the opportunities and challenges of great power competition, and regional efforts toward de-escalation and development.
Economy & Business Energy & Environment

Content

The effective employment of biometric data at US entry points has the potential to cut down on travel times and enhance border security.

Issue Brief

Jan 31, 2022

Biometrics at the border: Balancing security, convenience, and civil liberties

By Seth Stodder, Thomas S. Warrick

Forward Defense nonresident senior fellows Seth Stodder and Tom Warrick consider how US Customs and Border Protection can employ biometrics for safer, more efficient border operations.

Defense Policy Defense Technologies

Issue Brief

Jan 31, 2022

What do we know about cyber operations during militarized crises?

By Michael Fischerkeller

This essay focuses on how cyber operations employed during militarized crises are likely to impact escalation management. Cyber operations intended as offramps in a crisis could have an outcome opposite than that intended. Given the absence of direct experience, policymakers must critically examine assumptions and claims that cyber operations can serve as de-escalatory crisis offramps.

Cybersecurity

Issue Brief

Jan 31, 2022

China Pathfinder: Q4 2021 Update

By GeoEconomics Center and Rhodium Group

Over the past ten months, teams from the Atlantic Council and Rhodium Group have taken a dive into China’s economy to address a fundamental question: Is China becoming more or less like other open-market economies? 

China Fiscal and Structural Reform

Report

Jan 25, 2022

Cybersecurity for innovative small and medium enterprises and academia

By Franklin D. Kramer, Melanie J. Teplinsky, and Robert J. Butler

Innovation is fundamental to United States global leadership, critical both for the economy and for national security. Yet the resilience of the US innovation ecosystem against adversary cyber espionage and attack—most specifically from China—has not received the attention required, particularly given the essential innovation roles played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and by academia.

China Cybersecurity

Global Energy Agenda

Jan 19, 2022

The 2022 Global Energy Agenda

By Randolph Bell, Jennifer T. Gordon, Ameya Hadap, and Paul Kielstra (Editors)

The second edition of the Global Energy Agenda provides context for the year that has passed. It features a survey of thought leaders in the energy sector, as well as a series of essays by the leading figures in energy, to set the energy agenda for 2022.

Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security

Report

Jan 13, 2022

Iranians on #SocialMedia

By Holly Dagres

This report by the Future of Iran Initiative and Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) explores the social media habits of Iranian netizens and how the Islamic Republic is repressing the online space.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Human Rights

Report

Jan 4, 2022

After the insurrection: How domestic extremists adapted and evolved after the January 6 US Capitol attack

By Jared Holt

This report by the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) provides an overview and analysis of the shifts observed in domestic extremist movements since the 2021 Capitol attack.

Elections Rule of Law

Issue briefs and reports

Jan 4, 2022

Experts react to the year since January 6

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

Domestic extremism experts weigh in on the year since the January 6 attack and their perspectives on continuing threats to US democracy.

Elections Media

Report

Dec 23, 2021

Proactively countering North Korea’s advancing nuclear threat

By Markus Garlauskas

Markus Garlauskas suggests a strategy to counter North Korean nuclear weapons by impeding the growth of its arsenal, investing to stay ahead of new nuclear threats, and adjusting operations on the Korean Peninsula.

Defense Policy Defense Technologies

Issue Brief

Dec 22, 2021

Beyond the peninsula: US-ROK cooperation on digital connectivity in the Indo-Pacific

By Miyeon Oh

This issue brief examines digital connectivity efforts through a snapshot of Indonesia and Vietnam to show how China’s neighbors in Asia are on different trajectories in response to US-China strategic competition.

China Digital Policy
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