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.

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Featured content

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

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Explore the podcast series

NATO 20/2020 Podcast

NATO 20/2020 is a weekly podcast that explores 20 bold ideas to push NATO to be more visionary, more capable, and more self-evidently valuable to the security of more people.

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.

Artwork by Peter Kuper

In the News

Dec 17, 2020

The Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center partners with LEADERS Magazine to dedicate an entire issue to resilience

For its Fall/Winter issue of 2020, LEADERS Magazine, asked the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center to produce an issue dedicated to resilience. The Resilience Issue assembles a broad range of global thought leaders and experts who are currently tackling the challenges and crises facing the world from different perspectives.

Insights & Impact

Mar 3, 2020

Peering Around the Corner: The Geopolitics of Coronavirus

By Atlantic Council

On February 11, 2020 the DFRLab hosted “Peering Around the Corner: The Geopolitics of Coronavirus,” a timely series of panels on the potential geopolitical and economic consequences of Coronavirus, and how misinformation about the crisis may influence its impact.

China Disinformation

Program Impact Story

Feb 6, 2020

US energy priorities abroad: A conversation with US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette

By Global Energy Center

On Friday, February 7, 2020, the Atlantic Council hosted newly appointed US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for a public address and moderated discussion about US government energy priorities abroad.

view all Program impact stories

Latest commentary and analysis

MENASource

Sep 23, 2025

A geography of protest: Inside the rise of Iran’s minority factor

By Mohammed A. Salih

From the death of Mahsa Jina Amini to the Twelve Day War, the ethnic question has emerged as a significant dimension of Iran’s politics.

Civil Society Iran

MENASource

Sep 23, 2025

Iran’s minorities and policy complexity: A look at two communities

By David Sklar

Iran plays a significant role in Middle Eastern geopolitics. Policymakers should develop a sober, accurate mapping of its population.

Civil Society Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2025

How to write a US National Security Strategy 

By Matthew Kroenig

The Trump administration will soon release a National Security Strategy. Experts who have contributed to past strategies share their perspectives on how to make one worth drafting and reading.

Conflict Crisis Management
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Latest in-depth research and reports

Report

Sep 23, 2025

The critical minerals boom is an opportunity to integrate public health into mining operations

By Connor Gregory, Ciara M. Weets, and Rebecca Katz

Africa is central to the global push for cleaner energy, including the continent’s stocks of critical minerals that power green-energy technologies. But a race to extract more minerals poses public health risks, from the occupational hazards miners suffer to new disease outbreaks in mining camps. There’s a better course for investors and African governments.

Africa Economy & Business

Report

Sep 23, 2025

Natural gas has a small but important role in Africa’s energy transition

By Neil Ford

Limited access to electricity has long constrained both quality of life and economic growth across much of Africa. About 42 percent of the continent’s population still lives in homes without any access. While it is technically possible to rapidly increase African electrification rates through renewables, change on such a scale would require massive global investment that is not a realistic prospect in the foreseeable future. Africa’s untapped and associated gas reserves can provide part of the solution by supporting renewable energy in boosting electrification rates.

Africa Energy & Environment

Issue Brief

Sep 22, 2025

A three-pillar strategy for US democracy assistance in Central and Eastern Europe

By Stephen Nix and Megan Tamisiea

This paper is the first in the Freedom and Prosperity Center’s “Future of Democracy Assistance” series, which analyzes the many complex challenges to democracy around the world and highlights actionable policies that promote democratic governance.

Central Europe Democratic Transitions
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Content

In the News

Aug 15, 2023

Arbit and Shalomov in The Diplomatic World: Women Will Be the Biggest Victims of Israel’s Judicial Reforms

By Atlantic Council

Israel Middle East

In the News

Aug 15, 2023

Husain in the Wall Street Journal: The Three Big Ideas Behind the Abraham Accords

By Atlantic Council

International Norms Middle East

In the News

Aug 14, 2023

Grundman at Politico Defense Summit

Steven Grundman highlights the challenges facing the US industrial base as the international security environment rapidly changes.

Defense Industry United States and Canada

In the News

Aug 13, 2023

Zysk in NRK on Russian naval capabilities

By Katarzyna Zysk

On August 13, Transatlantic Security Initiative nonresident senior fellow Katarzyna Zysk was interviewed by NRK on a naval angle of the Russia’s war in Ukraine and, on August 16, in which she addressed potential outcomes of the war (text in Norwegian). 

Europe & Eurasia Russia

In the News

Aug 12, 2023

“A lot of companies now feel China isn’t the market of the future.” Nonresident senior fellow Dexter Tiff Roberts quoted in Business Insider on China’s economic outlook

On August 12, 2023, nonresident senior fellow Dexter Tiff Roberts spoke to Business Insider about the major problems set to cause China a prolonged period of economic struggle in the years to come.

China Economy & Business

In the News

Aug 11, 2023

Grundman on Aviation Week’s Check 6 podcast

Steven Grundman argues the defense industry sector is at a critical turning point

Defense Industry Technology & Innovation

In the News

Aug 11, 2023

Kroenig quoted in Voice of America on China’s economic slowdown and potential for increased aggression

By Atlantic Council

On August 10, Matthew Kroenig, Atlantic Council vice president and senior director of the Scowcroft Center, was quoted by Voice of America on how China’s lagging economic growth could raise the risk of war in the South China Sea. Kroenig believes that Chinese President Xi Jinping does not recognize that “China’s economic growth has leveled […]

Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Aug 10, 2023

Lipsky quoted and Kumar cited by Treasury and Risk on the development of China’s mBridge project

Read the full article here.

China Digital Currencies

In the News

Aug 10, 2023

Donovan quoted by the Guardian on outbound investment screening programs

Read the full article here.

China Financial Regulation

In the News

Aug 10, 2023

Bauerle Danzman quoted by BBC on outbound investment screening executive order

Read the full piece here.

China Economic Sanctions
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