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

Jun 30, 2023

“Sanctioning China in a Taiwan Crisis: Scenarios and Risks” report cited by RailFreight.com

Read the full article here.

China Economy & Business

In the News

Jun 30, 2023

Wieslander interviewed on Radio Sweden

P1 Morgon The NATO summit in Vilnius is coming up in a couple of weeks and it seems doubtful that Sweden will be a member of NATO. What does this mean for Sweden and NATO? What are the main risks? Reporter Mikael Kulle speaks to Michael Claesson, Chief of the Defense Staff and Anna Wieslander, […]

NATO Northern Europe

In the News

Jun 29, 2023

Townsend in The Edition podcast on the Wagner insurgency in Russia

By James J. Townsend Jr.

On June 29, Transatlantic Security Initiative senior advisor Jim Townsend joined The Spectator’s podcast The Edition discussing Wagner Group’s failed coup and its implications for Putin’s regime.

Europe & Eurasia Security & Defense

In the News

Jun 29, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by Trade Finance Global

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jun 29, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by finews.asia

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jun 29, 2023

Nonresident senior fellow Michael Schuman in The Atlantic: “The End of Optimism in China”

On June 29, 2023, nonresident senior fellow Michael Schuman’s latest article in The Atlantic explored how recent political and economic struggles may be marking the end of an era of optimism in China, marked by Xi Jinping’s advice that young Chinese should learn to “eat bitterness.”

China Economy & Business

In the News

Jun 29, 2023

“Sanctioning China in a Taiwan Crisis: Scenarios and Risks” report cited by The Economist

Read the full article here.

China Economy & Business

In the News

Jun 29, 2023

Lipsky cited by Bloomberg on Chinese digital yuan

Read the full article here.

China Digital Currencies

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by Reuters

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

Jeglinskas in Radio Canada on the Wagner insurgency in Russia

By Giedrimas Jeglinskas

On June 28, Transatlantic Security Initiative nonresident senior fellow Giedrimas Jeglinskas was quoted in Radio Canada, stating that the failed rebellion in Russia is a reminder that lasting peace is still far from being a reality in the region (text in French).

Europe & Eurasia Security & Defense