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

Oct 15, 2015

Charai: America Needs to Support Africa’s Democratic Aspirations

By Atlantic Council

Atlantic Council Board Director Ahmed Charai writes for The Hill on the importance of the upcoming elections on the African continent:

Africa

In the News

Oct 15, 2015

Stein on Turkey’s Anti-Terror Operations

By Aaron Stein

Bloomberg quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Aaron Stein on Turkey’s anti-terror operations and whether the government could have done more to prevent the bombing in Ankara:

Turkey

In the News

Oct 15, 2015

Hof: I Got Syria So Wrong

By Frederic Hof

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof writes for POLITICO on the origins of the Syrian conflict, what he got wrong, and what the Obama administration needs to do to change course:

Syria

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Itani on Putin’s Intervention in Syria

By Faysal Itani

Annahar quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to preserve the Syrian regime by neutralizing insurgent threats to the regime’s core territory: Read the full article here.

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Stein on the US-Turkey Relationship

By Aaron Stein

Diken quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Aaron Stein on the negative consequences of the Kurds forcing the United States to choose between supporting them or Turkey, a NATO ally: Read the full article here.

Turkey

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Hof on Russia’s Strategy in Syria

By Frederic C. Hof

NPR quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on Russia’s strategy in Syria and what it means for US objectives:

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Grigas: Lukashenko’s Win Means No Change for Belarus

By Agnia Grigas

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Agnia Grigas writes for The Hill on President Alexander Lukashenko’s reelection as President of Belarus and what it means for the future of the country:

Belarus

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Benitez on Russian Air Strikes

By Jorge Benitez

Foreign Policy quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow and NATOSource Director Jorge Benitez on Russian air strikes in Syria:

Russia Syria

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

New York Times Features Report on US Role in Afghanistan

By James Cunningham

The New York Times features a recently released report by Zalmay Khalilzad Chair on Afghanistan and Resident Senior Fellow James B. Cunningham, also a former US Ambassador to Afghanistan, that outlines why the US and NATO force levels in Afghanistan should be maintained close to current levels:

Afghanistan

In the News

Oct 14, 2015

Herbst on Constitutional Reform in Ukraine

By John Herbst

Foreign Policy quotes Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst on how Russia’s intervention in Ukraine is affecting the constitutional reform process:

Russia Ukraine