Insights and impact

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.

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Featured content

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

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Explore the podcast series

NATO 20/2020 Podcast

NATO 20/2020 is a weekly podcast that explores 20 bold ideas to push NATO to be more visionary, more capable, and more self-evidently valuable to the security of more people.

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.

Artwork by Peter Kuper

In the News

Dec 17, 2020

The Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center partners with LEADERS Magazine to dedicate an entire issue to resilience

For its Fall/Winter issue of 2020, LEADERS Magazine, asked the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center to produce an issue dedicated to resilience. The Resilience Issue assembles a broad range of global thought leaders and experts who are currently tackling the challenges and crises facing the world from different perspectives.

Insights & Impact

Mar 3, 2020

Peering Around the Corner: The Geopolitics of Coronavirus

By Atlantic Council

On February 11, 2020 the DFRLab hosted "Peering Around the Corner: The Geopolitics of Coronavirus," a timely series of panels on the potential geopolitical and economic consequences of Coronavirus, and how misinformation about the crisis may influence its impact.

China Disinformation

Program Impact Story

Feb 6, 2020

US energy priorities abroad: A conversation with US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette

By Global Energy Center

On Friday, February 7, 2020, the Atlantic Council hosted newly appointed US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for a public address and moderated discussion about US government energy priorities abroad.

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Latest commentary and analysis

UkraineAlert

Jul 2, 2026

The West can learn from Ukraine’s success against Russian propaganda

By Ryan Prior

While Ukraine often garners headlines for its drone warfare innovation, the country is also producing a playbook for countering Russian propaganda. This Ukrainian experience offers important lessons for the wider Western world, writes Ryan Prior.

Conflict Defense Policy

EnergySource

Jul 2, 2026

With US sanctions temporarily lifted, is Iranian crude back on the menu?

By Lize de Kruijf, Chloe O’Connor

The US-Iran deal waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales, but Washington will need further steps to meaningfully shift global crude trade and ensure clearer visibility into Iranian oil transactions.

Dollar Dominance Energy & Environment

MENASource

Jul 1, 2026

Libya doesn’t need another elite bargain

By Karim Mezran

The US blessing of a power-sharing arrangement for Libya preserves a fragile stability today while increasing the risk of a much larger crisis tomorrow.

Libya Political Reform
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Latest in-depth research and reports

Issue Brief

Jul 2, 2026

Europe’s no-panic playbook for a radically different US foreign policy

By Hans Binnendijk, James J. Townsend Jr.

How should the United States' allies, particularly in Europe, adapt to this new reality in US foreign policy?

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Issue Brief

Jul 2, 2026

From burden sharing to strategic delivery: NATO and Turkey’s priorities ahead of the Ankara summit

By Pınar Dost

As allies gather in Ankara, Turkey's rising influence, US retrenchment, and uneven burden sharing will test whether NATO can convert pledges into action.

Defense Policy European Union

Report

Jul 1, 2026

How NATO is facing mounting cybersecurity challenges

By G. Alexander Crowther

NATO's cyber defenses boast strong policy and training, but uneven capabilities and rising state threats will continue to pose major challenges.

Cybersecurity Defense Technologies
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Content

In the News

May 18, 2022

Dr Shahid on the Sri Lanka crisis

By Atlantic Council

Economy & Business Indo-Pacific

In the News

May 18, 2022

Amb Samad in Policy Magazine: Chaos Fatigue and the End of the Taliban Honeymoon

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

May 18, 2022

Wieslander quoted in Washington Post on Swedish and Finnish NATO applications

“This is an extraordinary development given where we were in February,” said Anna Wieslander, director for Northern Europe at the Atlantic Council think tank. “Russia wanted to turn back time, to go back to the Cold War, to fragment and weaken the West,” she continued. “Now, in May, we are here.”

Europe & Eurasia NATO

In the News

May 17, 2022

Iran Initiative event on the Taliban was mentioned in Politico’s National Security Daily newsletter

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Extremism

In the News

May 17, 2022

Khoury joins CGTN to discuss the political impacts of Lebanon’s election results and Hezbollah losses

By Atlantic Council

Corruption Democratic Transitions

In the News

May 17, 2022

Daoud quoted in The Times of Israel on Hezbollah’s losses in Lebanese elections

By Atlantic Council

Conflict Defense Policy

In the News

May 17, 2022

Secretary Yellen’s remarks on the Bretton Woods institutions shaping international finance following WII from her special address featured in the Wall Street Journal

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

In the News

May 17, 2022

Trotti in the National Interest on drones

By Atlantic Council

Christian Trotti recommends that the US military heavily invests in drone technology.

Defense Technologies Drones

In the News

May 17, 2022

Lipsky’s letter on why China’s progress is not the only motivation for the US to develop a central bank digital currency featured in Financial Times

Read the full article here.

China Digital Currencies

In the News

May 17, 2022

Wieslander speaks at Lennart Meri Conference in Estonia

On May 15th, Anna Wieslander spoke at the Lennart Meri Conference in Tallinn. Her concluding panel “Trusting Who We Are: Baltic Regional Security,” moderated by President of Estonia Alar Karis, took place on the verge of Swedish and Finnish NATO membership applications. Bringing two EU members into NATO’s framework will “solidify the West,” Wieslander said. Attempts at dialogue […]

Europe & Eurasia NATO
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