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

Podcast

Feb 11, 2026

Narco noir: Drugs, gangs and mercenaries in Latin America

By Alia Brahimi

In Season 2, Episode 14 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown, a renowned expert on non-state armed groups and organised crime. They begin by discussing the escalation of gang violence in Haiti over the last year, despite the arrival of the American PMC, Vectus Global, which is led by the Blackwater founder Erik Prince. Vanda points out that a recent air campaign weaponizing off-the-shelf drones was intended to decapitate the gangs but, while hundreds of Haitians have been killed, none of them have been significant gang leaders. They go on to explore why governments in the region allow and coopt street militias, the bunkering of fuel by colectivos in Venezuela, Hizballah’s continuing narcotics operations across Latin America, the IRGC’s role in drug trafficking, and how the regime in Iran ends.

Americas
Caribbean

Econographics

Feb 10, 2026

China’s warning on US Treasuries—and why its timing matters

By Jeremy Mark, Josh Lipsky

Beijing has joined the conversation on the dollar. It was leaked this week that Chinese regulators have been urging domestic financial institutions to cut back on US Treasuries, and this timing is no coincidence.

China
Dollar Dominance

Podcast

Feb 10, 2026

Is a dollar vibe shift under way?

By the GeoEconomics Center

This episode breaks down how the greenback impacts trade, investment, national security, and the average consumer, as we try to answer the question: is the dollar having a vibe shift?

Dollar Dominance
Economy & Business

Latest in-depth research and reports

Content

In the News

Sep 29, 2025

Klein discusses space warfighting on the Aerospace Advantage podcast

On September 27, Forward Defense nonresident senior fellow John Klein was featured on the Aerospace Advantage podcast by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies alongside Major Kyle “Ghengis” Rimando and Mitchell Institute senior fellows Charles Galbreath and Jen “Boots” Reeves. They discussed the Space Force’s Space Warfighting framework, achieving space superiority, and lessons learned from […]

Security & Defense
Space Security

In the News

Sep 29, 2025

Wechsler joins CNN to discuss Trump and Netanyahu meeting on Gaza ceasefire plan

By William F. Wechsler

Israel
Middle East

In the News

Sep 28, 2025

CBDC Tracker cited in Modern Diplomacy in analysis of CBDC developments across the Global South

Read the full article here

In the News

Sep 28, 2025

Donovan quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Russian oligarchs maneuvers to evade sanctions

Read the full article here

In the News

Sep 28, 2025

Donovan quoted in iStories on Russian elites moving assets ahead of the Ukraine invasion

Read the full article here

In the News

Sep 28, 2025

Donovan quoted in the Post and Courier on Russian elites laundering money through the US

Read the full article here

In the News

Sep 27, 2025

Charai in The National Interest: The Last Chance for Peace in the Middle

By Atlantic Council

English
Middle East

In the News

Sep 27, 2025

Rich Outzen joins TRT to discuss Trump Administration foreign and national security policies

Defense Policy
National Security

In the News

Sep 26, 2025

The CBDC Tracker cited in Center for Global Development noting that there were 137 retail central-bank-digital-currency projects worldwide

Read the full article here

In the News

Sep 26, 2025

Pınar Dost joins Turkiye Today to discuss the Erdoğan-Trump meeting at the White House

Europe & Eurasia
Middle East