About the Council

The Atlantic Council promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the Atlantic Community’s central role in meeting global challenges. The Council provides an essential forum for navigating the dramatic economic and political changes defining the twenty-first century by informing and galvanizing its uniquely influential network of global leaders. Through the papers we write, the ideas we generate, and the communities we build, the Council shapes policy choices and strategies to create a more secure and prosperous world.

NATO 20/2020

Twenty bold ideas to reimagine the Alliance after the 2020 US election

More than two decades after NATO’s inspired decision to invite former adversaries to join its ranks, the Alliance is in need of equally captivating ideas. The essays in this volume are intended to push the Alliance to think boldly and creatively in the service of recapturing the public’s imagination.

Read our provocative essays on the future of NATO

Explore the podcast series

Making a difference

Learn more about the Atlantic Council’s insights & impact through these stories of how our regional and thematic programs are making a difference not only in shaping how we view global issues but also in shaping their outcome.

Latest commentary and analysis


Econographics

Jun 19, 2026

Central banks can’t afford to keep missing their inflation targets

By
Jack Muldoon

While the Iran war explains the sudden rise in inflation, relying on this excuse obscures that there is potentially a long-term problem central banks will need to confront as they manage the long tail of this crisis.


Economy & Business


Macroeconomics


UkraineAlert

Jun 18, 2026

Putin’s obsession with ‘denazifying’ Ukraine makes peace impossible

By
Peter Dickinson

Putin’s obsession with “denazifying” Ukraine makes a mockery of efforts to portray the Russian invasion as a mere land grab and helps explain why there has been no meaningful progress toward peace despite more than a year of US-led efforts, writes Peter Dickinson.


Conflict


Disinformation


Podcast

Jun 18, 2026

“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

By
Alia Brahimi

In Season 2, Episode 16 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Daniel McLaughlin, an international lawyer and Legal Director of the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a California-based legal nonprofit working on behalf of victims of torture and other atrocity crimes. Daniel and CJA are leading a civil suit in San Diego against a Delaware-registered PMC, Spear Operations Group, for war crimes in Yemen. They represent the Yemeni parliamentarian Anssaf Ali Mayo, who was one of the targets of an alleged hit-squad in Yemen. Daniel talks us through the facts of the case, how it ended up in a California courtroom ten years later, and which US and international laws were ostensibly broken by the PMC. He also argues forcefully that the US government has a duty to regulate how former members of its military use their training and know-how.


Middle East


Rule of Law

Latest in-depth research and reports

Content

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Saab on Hezbollah’s Syria Recruits

By Bilal Saab

The Associated Press quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on Hezbollah’s heavy losses in the Syrian conflict and its recent recruitment efforts:

Syria

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Saab: Saudi Arabia’s Plan in Syria

By Bilal Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab writes for Foreign Affairs on Saudi Arabia’s plan for Syria and whether it can succeed:

Saudi Arabia Syria

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Hof on the Need for a Ceasfire in Syria

By Frederic Hof

CNN quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on why ending the bombing against the Syrian people needs to be the first step in ending the conflict:

Syria

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Christian Science Monitor Features Atlantic Council Iran Conference

By Atlantic Council

The Christian Science Monitor features a conference hosted by the Atlantic Council on the future of the Iran nuclear deal, quoting Lead Coordinator for Iran Nuclear Implementation Ambassador Stephen D. Mull:

Iran

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Brannen: Why Killing Top ISIS Henchmen Won’t Slow the Group Down

By Kate Brannen

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Kate Brannen writes for Vocativ on why US airstrikes against ISIS leaders don’t solve the main issues in fighting against the organization, quoting Vice President, Arnold Kanter Chair, and Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center Barry Pavel:

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Manning: What Does Putin Want?

By Robert A. Manning

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow Robert A. Manning writes for Foreign Policy on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy strategy in the Middle East and Europe and what President Putin may be trying to achieve politically on the international stage in 2016:

Russia

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Gedmin on Ukraine’s Ideological Struggle

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Democracy Digest quotes Executive Director of the Transatlantic Renewal Initiative Jeffrey Gedmin on the ideological struggle in Ukraine and its implications for the Kremlin:

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Ashooh on the UN Meeting on the Conflict in Syria

By Jessica Ashooh

Middle East Strategy Task Force Deputy Director Jessica Ashooh joins Sky News to discuss the meeting of world leaders in New York at the United Nations on the conflict in Syria and whether the talks will be successful:

Syria

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Itani on the Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Turkey

By Faysal Itani

The Huffington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Faysal Itani on increasing tensions between Turkey and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, a Syrian Kurdish organization:

Turkey

In the News

Dec 18, 2015

Saab: How to End Syria’s War

By Bilal Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab writes for Newsweek on the urgency of both addressing the issue of Assad head on and involving those countries who have committed significant political capital and material resources to shape the Syrian conflict’s outcome:

Syria