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

Jul 28, 2023

Ullman in United Press International on finding a way to end the war in Ukraine

By Atlantic Council

On July 26, Atlantic Council senior advisor Harlan Ullman published an op-ed in United Press International on how the United States must identify possible resolutions to Russia’s war in Ukraine. He advocates for putting together an “Iraq-like study group similar to the George W. Bush initiative in 2006” and argues that—despite the difficulties the Biden […]

Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense

In the News

Jul 28, 2023

Webster quoted in VOA Chinese on the rise of China’s soft power in Central Asia

Central Asia China

In the News

Jul 27, 2023

Kumar published by Intereconomics on China’s digital currency

Read the full piece here.

China Digital Currencies

In the News

Jul 27, 2023

Ellinas quoted in Trend News Agency on Azerbaijan’s opportunity to become Europe’s green hydrogen supplier

Economy & Business Energy & Environment

In the News

Jul 27, 2023

Lipsky published by Intereconomics on the geopolitics of CBDCs

Read the full piece here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jul 26, 2023

Liubakova quoted in Newsweek: Lukashenka looking to bolster his standing

By Atlantic Council

Belarus Europe & Eurasia

In the News

Jul 26, 2023

Warrick joins Al-Arabiya to discuss the Knesset’s vote to curb the Supreme Court’s power

By Atlantic Council

Civil Society Democratic Transitions

In the News

Jul 26, 2023

Rudder in Semafor

On July 25, IPSI nonresident senior fellow Lieutenant General (Ret.) Steven Rudder was quoted in an article in Semafor about Russia’s and China’s joint military drills in Asia. Rudder explains, “Russia is just not a European and NATO problem […] With Russia at war and now aligned and getting support from China, we now squarely […]

China Indo-Pacific

In the News

Jul 26, 2023

Cooper in Politico on NATO’s push to equip Ukraine with F-16s

By Atlantic Council

Conflict Defense Policy

In the News

Jul 26, 2023

Lipner quoted in Jewish News on the economic implications of the judicial reform vote

By Atlantic Council

Economy & Business Israel