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 16, 2015

Dungan on Hollande’s Speech to Parliament

By Nicholas Dungan

Transatlantic Relations Program Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Dungan joins Du Grain à Moudre to discuss the implications of French President Francois Hollande’s address to parliament in the wake of the deadly ISIS-affiliated attacks in Paris:

France

In the News

Nov 15, 2015

Saab on ISIS’ Global Threat

By Bilal Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab joins SiriusXM Radio to discuss why ISIS needs to be considered as a global – and not a regional – threat and why better coordination is needed to thwart future ISIS attacks: 

France

In the News

Nov 15, 2015

Saab on ISIS’ Increasingly Global Approach

By Bilal Saab

The Associated Press quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on how the recent attacks in places including Paris and Lebanon signal a shift in ISIS strategy to a more global approach:

France Middle East

In the News

Nov 15, 2015

Herbst on Russian Aggression in Ukraine

By John Herbst

Kyiv Day quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s likely policy toward Ukraine as Russia seeks to extricate itself from the rising costs of its aggression there:

Russia Ukraine

In the News

Nov 15, 2015

Hof on the Need for Action Following the Paris Attacks

By Frederic C. Hof

The Los Angeles Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on how the recent Paris attacks might affect US policy toward ISIS:

Syria

In the News

Nov 14, 2015

The Lawfare Podcast Features John Carlin at the Atlantic Council

By Atlantic Council

The Lawfare Podcast features Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin’s remarks from an Atlantic Council event on national security and the cyber threat landscape:

Cybersecurity National Security

In the News

Nov 14, 2015

Ward on Foreign Policy and the Democratic Debate

By Alex Ward

Voice of America quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Associate Director Alex Ward on the foreign policy and national security discussions during the recent democratic presidential debate:

In the News

Nov 14, 2015

Sheldon on the Upcoming G20 Meeting

By John Sheldon

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow John B. Sheldon joins CCTV to discuss what to expect from the upcoming G20 meeting:

Art of Future Warfare

Nov 14, 2015

i09 Reviews War Stories From The Future

By Atlantic Council

i09 reviews War Stories From The Future, the Art of Future Warfare Project’s new anthology of science fiction short stories:

In the News

Nov 13, 2015

Hof on a Pathway to a Political Settlement in Syria

By Frederic Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof joins BBC World News to discuss the crisis in Syria and how to put Syria on a pathway to a political settlement:

Syria