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

Aug 15, 2015

Metzl on Human Genetic Engineering

By Jamie Metzl

Vail Daily interviews Brent Scowcroft Center Nonresident Senior Fellow for Technology and National Security Jamie Metzl on the opportunities and challenges regarding human genetic engineering: 

In the News

Aug 15, 2015

Younis: How ISIS Has Established a Bureaucracy of Rape

By Nussaibah Younis

Rafik Hariri Center Resident Senior Fellow Nussaibah Younis writes for The Guardian on the mass weaponization of rape by ISIS:

In the News

Aug 15, 2015

Slavin on Approval of Iran Deal

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin joins Al Jazeera to discuss the challenge of securing approval for the Iran nuclear deal:

Iran

In the News

Aug 14, 2015

Lawfare Features Cyber Risk Wednesday Event

By Atlantic Council

The Cyberlaw Podcast features the Atlantic Council event Cyber Risk Wednesday: Rethinking Commercial Espionage in a discussion on US policy regarding stealing commercial secrets to give US companies a competitive edge:

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

In the News

Aug 14, 2015

Schechter on Unique Cuban-American Relationship

By Peter Schechter

The Miami Herald quotes Adrienne Arsht Latin American Center Director Peter Schechter on the unique foreign policy relationship between the United States and Cuba: 

Cuba

Emerging Defense Challenges

Aug 14, 2015

Grundman on Top Defense News

By Steven Grundman

M.A. and George Lund Fellow for Emerging Defense Challenges Steven Grundman joins In Depth with Francis Rose on Federal News Radio to discuss the threat of Boeing jobs moving to other countries, the replication of the RD-180, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s purchase of Precision Castparts Corp:

Defense Industry Security & Defense

In the News

Aug 14, 2015

Pham on Guinea-Bissau’s Fragile Democracy

By J. Peter Pham

International Business Times quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on Guinea-Bissau’s fragile democracy and the risks of a military coup or losing aid dollars amid political unrest:

In the News

Aug 14, 2015

Slavin Moderates Issues in the News

By Barbara Slavin

South Asia Center Nonresident Senior Fellow Barbara Slavin moderates Voice of America’s Issues in the News, discussing the explosions in China, the devaluation of the yuan, the anti-corruption measures in Iraq, and the re-opening of the US Embassy in Havana:

China Cuba

In the News

Aug 14, 2015

Marczak on Complicated US-Cuban Relations

By Jason Marczak

US News and World Report quotes Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center Deputy Director Jason Marczak on why despite the reopening of the US embassy in Cuba, much diplomatic work remains before relations will be completely normalized:

Cuba

In the News

Aug 14, 2015

Saab on French Arms Sales

By Bilal Y. Saab

Newsweek quotes Brent Scowcroft Center Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security Bilal Y. Saab on the strengthening relationship between France and its arms clients in the Middle East:

France Middle East