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 28, 2023

“Sanctioning China in a Taiwan Crisis: Scenarios and Risks” report cited by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Read the full article here.

China Economy & Business

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by La Nación

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

CBDC tracker cited by Statista

Read the full piece here.

Americas Digital Currencies

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by CNBC Africa

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

“Sanctioning China in a Taiwan Crisis: Scenarios and Risks” report cited by UK Parliament

Read the full transcript here.

China Economy & Business

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

Webster in The China-Russia Report: The PRC responds to the rebellion, issues statements (generally) supportive of Putin 

China Energy & Environment

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

Tran quoted in Bretton Woods Committee post on Paris Summit

Read the full post here.

Economy & Business European Union

In the News

Jun 28, 2023

CBDC Tracker update cited by Yahoo! Finance

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

Jun 27, 2023

Kroenig quoted in RND on Machiavelli’s view of democracies

By Atlantic Council

On June 27, Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig was quoted in RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland on how Niccolò Machiavelli favored democracies for their efficiency rather than believing they were morally superior.

Freedom and Prosperity Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Jun 27, 2023

Webster in The Interpreter: Mongolia in the middle: China and Russia may split over the allure of renewables

Central Asia China