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

Nov 5, 2026

Putin suffers Balkan setbacks as Russia struggles to retain influence

By Michael Getto

Russia’s recent setbacks in the Balkans are a reminder of the foreign policy challenges facing the Kremlin as the full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches a sixth year with no end in sight, writes Michael Getto.

Conflict Elections

UkraineAlert

Nov 5, 2026

Last week’s brief Ukraine ceasefire did not stop Russian attacks on civilians

By Kristina Hook

A recent humanitarian ceasefire around the southern Ukrainian city of Oleshky made it possible to evacuate hundreds of residents, but Russian attacks on civilians elsewhere in Ukraine continue, writes Kristina Hook.

Civil Society Conflict

MENASource

Nov 5, 2026

Washington should broaden its Shia outreach in Iraq. Muqtada al-Sadr is a case study.

By Alfadhel Ahmad

Conversations with several Sadrists reveal a movement preparing to fill a leadership vacuum in Iraq—and engage with the US.

Elections Iraq
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Latest in-depth research and reports

Report

Nov 3, 2026

Religion as statecraft: What a decade of research reveals about the geopolitics of religious soft power

By Peter Mandaville

The post-Cold War assumption that international politics was converging toward a secular liberal framework in which religion would play at most a marginal role has not survived contact with the evidence. From China to Turkey to Saudi Arabia and Russia, states are integrating religion into their foreign policy in strategically significant ways.

China India

Issue Brief

Nov 2, 2026

How to prevent an energy quarantine of Taiwan

By Joseph Webster

An all-of-the-above energy strategy in Taiwan can help the United States and allies deter a Chinese energy quarantine of the island.

China Energy & Environment

Issue Brief

Oct 29, 2026

The relationship between female leadership, political freedom, and the rule of law

By Helena Fee Rasch

How is female leadership in public service associated with two institutional outcomes: political freedom and rule of law? Understanding the broader implications of women’s representation in leadership roles can inform strategies to preserve and promote freedom, democracy, and prosperity.

Freedom and Prosperity Political Reform
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Content

In the News

Mar 19, 2022

Wieslander speaks about Gotland’s bolstered defences to Belgian VRT

By Anna Wieslander

Europe & Eurasia NATO

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Dean in the Guardian on Australian defense spending

By Atlantic Council

Peter Dean comments on the importance of defense spending in the 2022 Australian elections.

Defense Industry Elections

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Brooks on Real Time with Bill Maher on US cybersecurity

By Atlantic Council

Max Brooks discusses US cybersecurity and Russian gray zone operations on Real Time with Bill Maher.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Klain joins Al Jazeera Inside Story to discuss Russia’s siege of Mariupol

By Atlantic Council

More about our expert

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Norrlöf in Foreign Affairs on Russia’s economic containment

Read the full article here.

Economy & Business European Union

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Slavin quoted in L’Oreient Le Jour on Iran’s demands regarding sanctions during JCPOA talks

By Atlantic Council

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion French

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Slavin quoted in the Italian Institute for International Political Studies on how JCPOA talks may be impacted by Russian aggression in Ukraine

By Atlantic Council

Conflict Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Ellinas quoted in New Europe on East Med’s role in EU energy security
Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Ashford on the Ezra Klein Show: A realist take on how the Russia-Ukraine war could end

By Atlantic Council

On March 18, Emma Ashford was featured on the Ezra Klein Show and provided her insights on a possible end to the Ukraine crisis and the conflict’s implications for the United States’ place in the world. “I think people underestimate the extent to which American foreign policy, since the end of the Cold War, has […]

Conflict Crisis Management

In the News

Mar 18, 2022

Katz in The German Marshall Fund: Russia’s Southern Game: NATO’s Southern Flank after the Ukraine Invasion

By Atlantic Council

Conflict Crisis Management
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