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 22, 2015

Hof on Assad and ISIS

By Frederic C. Hof

Business Insider quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on Assad’s role in facilitating the advance assisting ISIS in Syria and what this means in terms of a US policy response:

Syria

In the News

Sep 22, 2015

Barno and Bensahel: Fighting Joe Dunford’s World

By Dave Barno and Nora Bensahel

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellows for Military Affairs and National Security Policy Dave Barno and Nora Bensahel write for War on the Rocks on what it will be like for Marine General Joe Dunford becoming Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

National Security Security & Defense

In the News

Sep 21, 2015

Itani on US Policy Options in Syria

By Faysal Itani

The Washington Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on US policy options in Syria and specifically the implications of increased support for Kurdish militias:

Syria

In the News

Sep 21, 2015

Hof on the Train and Equip Program in Syria

By Frederic Hof

Defense News quotes Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof on why the US train and equip program in Syria was never likely to be successful:

Syria

In the News

Sep 21, 2015

Cohen on Israeli and Russian Cooperation in Syria

By Ariel Cohen

Foreign Policy quotes Global Energy Center and Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Ariel Cohen on Israel and Russia coordinating on military action in Syria and the larger implications of such an agreement:

Israel Russia
Crude.jpg

In the News

Sep 21, 2015

Montanino on the Implications of Falling Oil Prices

By Andrea Montanino

Global Business and Economics Program Director Andrea Montanino writes for Italian-language Corriere della Sera on the foreign policy implications of falling oil prices for the United States:

Energy & Environment United States and Canada

Emerging Defense Challenges

Sep 21, 2015

Grundman on the Latest Acquisition System Performance Evaluation

By Steven Grundman

Inside Defense quotes M.A. and George Lund Fellow for Emerging Defense Challenges Steven Grundman on the latest acquisition system performance evaluation and whether the Better Buying Power Initiative has been successful:

Defense Industry Security & Defense

In the News

Sep 21, 2015

Ullman: Stemming the Syrian Slaughter

By Harlan Ullman

Atlantic Council Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes for United Press International on the crisis in Syria:

Syria

In the News

Sep 21, 2015

Pham on the Coup in Burkina Faso

By J. Peter Pham

International Business Times quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on elections in Burkina Faso after a government coup:

In the News

Sep 19, 2015

Barno on Women in Combat

By Dave Barno

The Washington Examiner quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Military Affairs and National Security Policy Dave Barno on women serving in combat and military leadership roles: