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

Nov 23, 2015

Hellyer: What the Paris Attacks Should Now Teach Us

By H.A. Hellyer

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow H.A. Hellyer writes for Al Arabiya on the lessons taht should be taken away from the Paris attacks and the responses that should follow:

France

In the News

Nov 23, 2015

Lightfoot on President Hollande Meeting with Obama

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

Roll Call quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Jeffrey Lightfoot on the topics President Hollande of France is most likley to discuss with President Obama during their meeting in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Paris:

France

In the News

Nov 23, 2015

Vakhshouri on Russian-Iranian Oil and Gas Exports

By Sara Vakshouri

USA Today quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Sara Vakhshouri on the common interests in oil and gas exports between Russia and Iran:

In the News

Nov 23, 2015

Hof on the Russian-Iranian Relationship

By Frederic C. Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic Hof is quoted by USA Today on the Russian-Iranian relationship as it relates to Syria:

Iran Russia

In the News

Nov 22, 2015

Itani on Fighting ISIS and al-Qaeda

By Faysal Itani

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani joins Defense News to discuss the differences between ISIS and al-Qaeda and the strategies to combat them:

Syria

In the News

Nov 22, 2015

Natural Gas Europe Highlights Istanbul Summit

By Global Energy Center

Natural Gas Europe hihglights the Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul hosted by the Atlantic Council with City College Law School Professor Alan Riley:

In the News

Nov 22, 2015

Hof on Combating ISIS

By Frederic C. Hof

The Los Angeles Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on what the United States should do to combat ISIS: 

Syria

In the News

Nov 22, 2015

Vakhshouri and Slavin on Iran Nuclear Deal

By Sara Vakhshouri and Barbara Slavin

Hürriyet quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Sara Vakhshouri and South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin on Iran’s energy policy’s after the nuclear deal:

Energy & Environment Iran

In the News

Nov 21, 2015

Rudaw on Kurdistan’s Oil Market

By Atlantic Council

Rudaw cites a panel on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s oil market that took place at the seventh annual Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit:

Turkey

In the News

Nov 21, 2015

Hurriyet Daily News on Istanbul Summit Themes

By Atlantic Council

Hurriyet Daily News cites the Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit and details the themes that were most prevalent at this year’s event:

Turkey