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 10, 2015

Vakhshouri on Iranian Oil Sanctions

By Sara Vakhshouri

Oil & Gas Journal quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Sara Vakhshouri on how lifting oil sanctions could spur domestic economic development:

Iran

In the News

Dec 10, 2015

Alami: Syrian War Redraws Country’s Economic Map

By Mona Alami

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Mona Alami writes for Al-Monitor on Syria’s struggling economy following the start of their civil war in March 2011:

Syria

In the News

Dec 10, 2015

Aslund: Russia’s Nineteenth-Century Approach in Syria

By Anders Aslund

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Resident Senior Fellow Anders Aslund writes for The American Interest on the similarities between the strategies and rhetoric of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Czar Nicholas I: 

Russia Syria

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

Bensahel on Congressional Debate to Authorize the Use of Military Force

By Nora Bensahel

The New York Times quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Military Affairs and National Security Policy Nora Bensahel on the Congressional debate to authorize the use of military force, and whether a vote is likely soon:

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

USNI News Features Atlantic Council Event on Taiwan’s Defense Role

By Robert Manning

USNI News features an Atlantic Council event on the future of Taiwan’s defense role, quoting Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow Robert Manning on how US arm sales to Taiwan could affect relations with Beijing:

China

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

Tanchum on Undersea Iran-Oman-India Pipeline

By Micha'el Tanchum

Bloomberg Business quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Micha’el Tanchum on the economic gains of developing an undersea pipeline for Iran, Oman, and India:

India Iran

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

Healey on US Cyber Warfare

By Jason Healey

Politico quotes Cyber Statecraft Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Jason Healey on the powerful hidden capabilities of the US cyberwarfare program:

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

Mardini: No Authority: Shiite Militarization in a Fragmented Iraq

By Ramzy Mardini

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini writes for World Politics Review on the Iraqi government’s attempts to find stability and control: 

Iraq

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

Slavin: What’s the One Thing That Arabs, Turks, and Iranians Can All Agree On?

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al-Monitor on a study detailing how Middle East citizens view ISIS and the US government’s role in countering extremist violence:

In the News

Dec 9, 2015

Slavin: Trump Further Damages US Image in the Muslim World

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Voice of America on the alienating rhetoric of presidential candidate Donald Trump following his remark to bar all foreign Muslims from entering the United States: