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

May 29, 2023

Rich Outzen joins TRT World to discuss the Turkish elections

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

May 29, 2023

Stefanini featured in Deutsche Welle addressing the “Belt and Road” initiative and Italy’s participation

By Stefano Stefanini

On May 29, Transatlantic Security Initiative nonresident senior fellow Stefano Stefanini was quoted in Deutsche Welle addressing the “Belt and Road” initiative and why it is impossible for Italy, as an ally of the United States, to continue to participate in it. 

Italy NATO

In the News

May 29, 2023

Halaimzai & Theros in PeaceRep: Establishing the Afghanistan Research Network

By Atlantic Council

Sahar Halaimzai and Marika Theros recently established The Afghanistan Research Network (ARN) as a first step to preserve, sustain and amplify Afghan expertise and knowledge, and to provide analysis that can inform creative actions in the short-term while helping shape future prospects for a more stable and pluralistic Afghanistan in the long-term. The Afghanistan Research Network aims […]

Afghanistan Freedom and Prosperity

In the News

May 29, 2023

Kumar, Brownstein, Lopez-Irizarry, and Vishwanath cited by KPMG on CBDCs

Read the full report here.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

In the News

May 29, 2023

Wieslander quoted in Wall Street Journal on Turkey & Sweden’s NATO accession

“The Turkish leader’s demands have created a political knot that will be difficult to address unless he is willing to soften his stance, said Anna Wieslander, the Stockholm-based director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council. ‘It’s worrisome that he put something on the table which is not solvable,’ Wieslander said. ‘Turkey is creating a […]

NATO Northern Europe

In the News

May 28, 2023

Lipsky interviewed by NPR on potential US default

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business

In the News

May 27, 2023

Agachi interviewed by TVR Info on Western unity and resolve before NATO Summit (in Romanian)

On February 3, Anca was interviewed by TVR Info on Western unity and resolve at the current moment in Russia's war in Ukraine and expectations for the upcoming NATO Vilnius Summit (video in Romanian).

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

In the News

May 27, 2023

Dahl featured in Folkbladet discussing Sweden’s NATO membership

By Ann-Sofie Dahl

On May 27, Transatlantic Security Initiative nonresident senior fellow Ann-Sofie Dahl was quoted in Folkbladet discussing how Sweden’s NATO membership now depends not so much on Sweden as on the United States (text in Swedish).  

Indo-Pacific NATO

In the News

May 27, 2023

Lipsky quoted in Business Insider on US credibility in a default

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business

In the News

May 27, 2023

Lipsky interviewed on Business Insider on the consequences of a US default

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business