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 5, 2015

Shaffer on OPEC and Oil Prices

By Brenda Shaffer

Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Brenda Shaffer joins Knowledge@Wharton to discuss OPEC and oil prices:

Energy & Environment

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Barno and Bensahel: Can the US Military Halt Its Brain Drain?

By Barno and Bensahel

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellows for Military Affairs and National Security Policy Dave Barno and Nora Bensahel cowrite for The Atlantic on whether the Pentagon’s rigid personnel system is driving away the officers it will need for the conflicts of the twenty-first century:

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Linderman on Media Freedom in Georgia

By Laura Linderman

Voice of America quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Nonresident Research Fellow Laura Linderman on Georgia’s international image regarding media freedom in the wake of the Rustavi 2 controversy and court case: Read the full article here.

The Caucasus

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Hof: A Syria-First Strategy for Defeating ISIS

By Frederic Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof writes for The Atlantic on why protecting civilians from Assad is the first step toward a negotiated political transition  in Syria:

Syria

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Hellyer on Egypt’s President

By H.A. Hellyer

The Economist quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow H.A. Hellyer on Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi:

North Africa

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Hof on US Support for Syria’s Rebels

By Frederic C. Hof

The Los Angeles Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on the Obama administration’s plan to send US special operations forces to aid Syrian rebels:

Syria

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Hellyer on ISIS’s Sinai Affiliate

By H.A. Hellyer

Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow H.A. Hellyer joins CNN to discuss ISIS-affiliated militants in the Sinai Peninsula, amid uncertainty over the crash of Metrojet Flight 9268: Watch the full interview here.

North Africa

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Hellyer on Flight 9268 Crash

By H.A. Hellyer

BBC quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Senior Fellow H.A. Hellyer on the possibility of ISIS involvement in the crash of a Russian passenger jet:

Russia

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Barno on the Future of the US Army

By Dave Barno

Politico Europe quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Military Affairs and National Security Policy Dave Barno on the future of the US Army amid Russia’s new foreign policy stance:

Russia

In the News

Nov 5, 2015

Pham: Morocco’s Green March at Forty

By J. Peter Pham

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham writes for The Hill on the fortieth anniversary of Morocco’s Green March, a pivotal moment in the country’s post-colonial history:

Morocco