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


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


Econographics

Jun 18, 2026

For warning signs of the next global financial crisis, watch the activities of both banks and nonbanks

By
Hung Tran

The activities that trigger financial crises can be undertaken by any financial institution, including both banks and nonbanks.


Economy & Business

Latest in-depth research and reports

Content

In the News

May 23, 2014

Herbst: Will Russia Interfere in Ukrainian Elections?

By John E. Herbst

Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center Director John E. Herbst joins NPR’s Morning Edition to discuss the upcoming elections in Ukraine. Listen to the interview here.

Russia Ukraine

In the News

May 22, 2014

Wake-up Call for Europe on Energy

Breaking Down the Russia-China Gas Deal Energy & Environment Program Director Mihaela Carstei spoke with CNN’s Fionnuala Sweeney on the major gas deal struck between Russia and China. She comments on the implications for Europe and the crisis in Ukraine.

China Energy & Environment

In the News

May 22, 2014

Brzezinski on Modernizing Russia’s Military

By Ian Brzezinski

Brent Scowcroft Center Senior Fellow Ian Brzezinski is quoted in the Economist on Russia’s military modernization:

Russia

In the News

May 22, 2014

Hof on US Failure in Syria

By Frederic Hof

The Christian Science Monitor quotes Resident Senior Fellow in the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Frederic Hof on how US-Russia relations impact crises such as Syria and Ukraine:

Russia Syria

In the News

May 22, 2014

Mezran on Gen. Khalifa Hifter

By Karim Mezran

Voice of America‘s Barbara Slavin, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, quotes Karim Mezran, a resident senior fellow at the Raik Hariri Center for the Middle East on the possible strategy of Libya’s General Khalifa Hifter:

Libya

In the News

May 22, 2014

Itani on the Conflict in Syria

By Faysal Itani

Syria Deeply interviews Resident Fellow Faysal Itani on recent military assaults by the Syrian army against rebel forces:

Syria

In the News

May 22, 2014

Huntsman on a 2016 Presidential Campaign

By Jon M. Huntsman

The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire quotes Atlantic Council Chairman Jon Huntsman on whether he is interested in a 2016 presidential run: 

In the News

May 22, 2014

Pham on US Arrest of Liberian “War Criminal”

By J. Peter Pham

The Economist quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the arrest in the United States of one of the main figures in Liberia’s civil war:

North & West Africa

In the News

May 22, 2014

Pham on the Origins of Boko Haram

By J. Peter Pham

The Atlantic quotes Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham on the complex roots of Boko Haram in Nigeria:

Nigeria

In the News

May 21, 2014

Carstei on Russia-China Gas Deal

By Mihaela Carstei

Mihaela Carstei, acting director of the Atlantic Council Energy and Environment Program, joins Al Jazeera English to discuss the recently announced energy deal between Russia and China:

China Energy & Environment