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 7, 2023

Wieslander interviewed by BBC on Sweden’s NATO prospects

NATO Northern Europe

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

Kroenig and Miller in Foreign Policy on democratic renewal at home and abroad

On July 4, Scowcroft Center senior director and vice president Matthew Kroenig and Scowcroft Center assistant director Danielle Miller penned a review of Charles Dunst’s new book, Defeating the Dictators: How Democracy Can Prevail in the Age of the Strongman, in Foreign Policy. In it, they discuss how democracies can outperform autocracies and maintain their […]

Politics & Diplomacy Resilience & Society

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

Agachi in VOA News on NATO allies actions in Vilnius regarding China

On July 6, the Transatlantic Security Initiative’s associate director Anca Agachi was quoted in a VOA news article discussing the actions NATO allies are seeking in Vilnius regarding China.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

CBDC tracker cited by the Oliver Wyman Forum on the number of countries exploring CBDCs

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies East Asia

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

Garlauskas and Culver Panelists for VOA Show

On June 30, Markus Garlauskas and Global China Hub Nonresident Senior Fellow John Culver were the guests for Voice of America’s Washington Talk panel discussion show, which focuses on North and South Korean audiences and is often watched by the US Korea analysis and policy community. The discussion focused on the new North Korea intelligence […]

China Intelligence

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

Lipsky cited by Les Echos on the race for central bank digital currencies

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

Townsend in Foreign Policy on US cluster munitions going to Ukraine

By James J. Townsend Jr.

On July 6, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security senior advisor Jim Townsend  was quoted in Foreign Policy on sending cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Security & Defense Ukraine

In the News

Jul 6, 2023

Wald featured in Bloomberg Markets: The Close podcast on oil production cuts

Economy & Business Energy & Environment

In the News

Jul 5, 2023

Eftimiades on NDT News regarding US – China relations

By Atlantic Council

Nicholas Eftimiades discusses the future of US - China relations

China Economy & Business

In the News

Jul 5, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by Forkast

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy