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 2, 2015

Pavel: There’s No Contest. Russia and ISIS Are Most Threatening

By Barry Pavel

Vice President, Arnold Kanter Chair, and Director of the Brent Scowcroft Center Barry Pavel writes for the New York Times, proposing two broad strategic propositions that can help guide effective US national security planning in response to threats from both nation-states and nonstate actors:

Russia

In the News

Sep 1, 2015

Roscini on China’s Stock Market

By Dante Roscini

The Harvard Gazette interviews Global Business and Economics Program Nonresident Senior Fellow Dante Roscini on the impact of China’s economic woes on the global economy: 

China Economy & Business

In the News

Sep 1, 2015

Blanford: Lebanon’s Garbage Crisis – Can Activists Use It to Change Paralyzed Politics?

By Nicholas Blanford

Middle East Peace and Security Initiative Nonresident Senior Fellow Nicholas Blanford writes for the Christian Science Monitor on the escalating anti-government tensionsin Lebanon as protestors stormed the country’s environment ministry on Tuesday:

Middle East

In the News

Sep 1, 2015

Cole on China Sanctions

By August Cole

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow August Cole joins Marketplace Tech to discuss US reaction to Chinese cyber spying and whether sanctions are likely: 

China Cybersecurity

In the News

Sep 1, 2015

Metzl on the Sliding Chinese Market

By Jamie Metzl

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Technology and National Security Jamie Metzl joins Bloomberg to discuss the Chinese economic slowdown:

China

In the News

Sep 1, 2015

Benitez on Sweden Joining NATO

By Jorge Benitez

Foreign Policy quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow Jorge Benitez on Swedish popular opinion to join NATO and Russia’s hostile response:

NATO Northern Europe

In the News

Sep 1, 2015

Shaffer on Egypt’s Gas Find

By Brenda Shaffer

Nikkei Asian Review interviews Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Brenda Shaffer on Egypt’s gas field and the opportunities they offer Israel:

Energy & Environment Israel

In the News

Aug 31, 2015

Shaffer on Egypt’s Gas Discovery

By Brenda Shaffer

Reuters quotes Global Energy Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Brenda Shaffer on the effect Egypt’s discovery of gas will have on Israel’s gas exports: 

Energy & Environment Israel

In the News

Aug 31, 2015

Barno and Bensahel on Women in the Workforce

By Dave Barno and Nora Bensahel

Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellows for Military Affairs and National Security Policy Dave Barno and Nora Bensahel joined JPMorgan Chase & Co. for a discussion on the recently released report Battlefields and Boardrooms that calls attention to the obstacles women face in rising to leadership roles in the military and private sector: 

In the News

Aug 31, 2015

Saab: Trashy Politics in Beirut

By Bilal Y Saab

Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab writes for Foreign Affairs on the ongoing protests in Beirut and the potential for political reform: 

Middle East