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

Sep 28, 2015

Hof on Russia, Syria, Iraq Intelligence Sharing

By Frederic C. Hof

The Washington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on Iraq’s expanded security cooperation with Russia and Syria in the fight against ISIS and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motivations for the arrangement:

Iraq Russia

In the News

Sep 28, 2015

Herbst Joins CNN to Discuss Putin’s Response to Reports of US Missiles

By John E. Herbst

Watch the full interview here.

Russia

In the News

Sep 28, 2015

Slavin: Iran-Saudi Rift Over Hajj Decreases Chances for Solution to Syria

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al Jazeera America on Iranian President Rouhani’s criticism of Saudi Arabia:

Iran Saudi Arabia

In the News

Sep 28, 2015

Albright: In the Migrant Crisis, America Must Do More

By Madeleine Albright

Atlantic Council Board Director and Middle East Strategy Task Force Co-Chair Secretary Madeleine Albright writes for The Boston Globe on the US role in the migrant crisis, highlighting the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Strategy Task Force and its focus on rebuilding societies over the long term:

Middle East

In the News

Sep 28, 2015

Herbst on Putin’s Response to US Nuclear Weapons in Europe

By John Herbst

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John Herbst joins CNN to discuss Russian President Vladimir Putin’s likely response to reports of new US nuclear weapons being sent to Europe: 

Russia

In the News

Sep 28, 2015

Slavin: Rouhani Settles Into a More ‘Normal’ UN Routine

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin writes for Al Monitor on Iranian President Rouhani’s speech to the UN General Assembly: 

Iran

In the News

Sep 28, 2015

Daily Sabah Features Report on Iranian and Eurasian Energy

By Micha'el Tanchum

The Daily Sabah features the recently released report authored by Eurasian Energy Futures Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Micha’el Tanchum, A Post-Sanctions Iran and the Eurasian Energy Architecture: Challenges and Opportunities for the Euro-Atlantic Community, on how the lifting of sanctions on Iranian gas will lead to a restructuring of the Eurasian energy architecture:

Iran

In the News

Sep 27, 2015

Huntsman on President Xi Jinping’s US Visit

By Jon Huntsman, Jr.

Atlantic Council Chairman Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. joins Fox News to discuss Chinese President Xi Jinping’s US visit and the topics of discussion with President Barack Obama including cyber security, intellectual property theft, and trade relations:

China

In the News

Sep 27, 2015

Mardini on the US-Iraq Relationship

By Ramzy Mardini

The New York Times quotes Rafik Hariri Center Nonresident Fellow Ramzy Mardini on the US-Iraq relationship in light of increased Russian intervention in Syria:

Iraq

In the News

Sep 27, 2015

Hof and Herbst on Obama-Putin Meeting

By Frederic C. Hof and John Herbst

Defense News quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof and Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John Herbst on President Obama and President Putin meeting at the UN General Assembly to discuss the Russian presence in Syria:

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy