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 16, 2023

Webster in The Diplomat: Sensing opportunities, China weighs its diplomatic options in Europe

Energy & Environment

In the News

May 16, 2023

Riley quoted in Jutarnji List on Russia-Ukraine energy security

Energy & Environment

In the News

May 16, 2023

Riley in Financial Times: Let Russian gas exports fund Ukraine’s reconstruction

Energy & Environment

In the News

May 16, 2023

Alden in Formiche discussing Speaker McCarthy’s visit to Rome

On May 3, in Formiche, Scowcroft Strategy Initiative nonresident senior fellow Alexander Alden’s commented on Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s visit to Rome, emphasizing the expectation that Italy will rescind its participation in the PRC’s Belt and Road Initiative.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

In the News

May 15, 2023

Ellinas in Cyprus Mail: EuroAsia interconnector becoming a reality

Energy & Environment

In the News

May 15, 2023

Ellinas in Financial Mirror: Energy markets sees prices stabilize

Energy & Environment

In the News

May 15, 2023

Kroenig in Politico on Niccolo Machiavelli

By Atlantic Council

On May 10, Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig’s interview on School of War was featured as “brain food” in Politico‘s “Global Insider” newsletter. In the interview, Kroenig and podcast host Aaron MacLean discussed Niccolo Machiavelli’s place in history, his contributions to strategic thinking, and his relevance to modern politics, including to the “bullishness” of […]

Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

May 15, 2023

Imai in The Diplomat

On May 12, Kyoko Imai authored an article, “Momentum Building in the Japan-South Korea Partnership,” for The Diplomat. She argues that Asia’s two leading democracies must put their historical differences aside to advance mutual interests and counter shared challenges. Imai emphasizes that this will require robust bilateral economic and security cooperation through a whole-of-country approach […]

Economy & Business Indo-Pacific

In the News

May 12, 2023

Brzezinski and Vershbow in Center for a New American Security on recommendations for NATO’s defense and deterrence posture

By Ian Brzezinski, Alexander Vershbow

On May 12, Transatlantic Security Initiative senior fellow Ian Brzezinski and distinguished fellow Alexander Vershbow joined Center for a New American Security to discuss their latest memo laying out new recommendations for NATO’s defense and deterrence posture. 

Conflict Europe & Eurasia

In the News

May 12, 2023

Graham quoted in CNBC on G7 exports to Russia and further economic measures

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia