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.

Read our annual report
Learn more

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

Download PDF
Read the essays
sign up for more

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.

view all Program impact stories

Latest commentary and analysis

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2026

Ukraine can do more to counter Russia’s illicit finance threat

By Matthew McGlynn

For more than four years, Ukraine has impressed global audiences with the country’s ability to defend itself against Russia on land, at sea, and in the air. Illicit finance is another important front in the fight against Russian aggression, writes Matthew McGlynn.

Conflict Cybersecurity

EnergySource

Sep 17, 2026

What von der Leyen’s SOTU speech got right about energy—and where the EU still needs to pivot

By Atlantic Council experts

The EU State of the Union address recognizes important energy system challenges but also leaves details on actions murky.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

UkraineAlert

Sep 17, 2026

Putin is escalating against NATO but a Baltic incursion remains unlikely

By James Rice

The recent escalation in Russian gray zone aggression across Europe has sparked a lively debate over how far the Kremlin may be prepared to go, but a Russian attack on the Baltic states remains unlikely, writes James Rice.

Conflict European Union
View all commentary & analysis

Latest in-depth research and reports

Issue Brief

Sep 17, 2026

Fortifying USMCA through US–Mexico investment screening coordination

By the US–Mexico Binational Task Force on Economic Security and Competitiveness

One of the biggest blind spots in the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is its treatment of capital and foreign investment screening. The current review presents an opportunity to address this and build a safer North America.

Critical Infrastructure Policy Economy & Business

Report

Sep 17, 2026

New voices, old friends: How Russia targets its messaging in the Global South

By Casey Michel

The latest report in the Atlantic Council's Russia Tomorrow series examines the themes and methods that Russia uses to target audiences in the Global South.

Africa Civil Society

In-Depth Research & Reports

Sep 11, 2026

Submission to the UN: Advancing the just repatriation of illicit funds 

By Britt Gronemeyer, Celeste Kmiotek

How can the UN and the international community ensure that when illicit funds are seized, victims of the illicit activity benefit? The Atlantic Council's Strategic Litigation Program contributed a brief to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights with six key recommendations on the subject.

Corruption Financial Crimes & Illicit Trade
View all In-depth Research & reports

Content

In the News

Jan 6, 2022

Lipsky joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the 2022 economic outlook, interest rates, CBDCs, China, and the Olympics

Watch the full discussion here.

China Digital Currencies

In the News

Jan 6, 2022

Friedlander was quoted in Politico discussing EU-US response to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine

By GeoEconomics Center

Read the full article here

Economy & Business European Union

In the News

Jan 6, 2022

Wazim Mowla and Isabel Bernhard in Global Americans: Why Might Taiwan’s Allies in Latin America and the Caribbean Soon Look to China?

On January 6, 2022, Wazim Mowla and Isabel Bernhard co-authored an article in Global Americans, "Why Might Taiwan’s Allies in Latin America and the Caribbean Soon Look to China?"

Caribbean China

In the News

Jan 5, 2022

Katz in The National Interest: Could a democratic China supplant America’s role in the world?
China

In the News

Jan 5, 2022

Katz in National Interest: Could a Democratic China Supplant America’s Role in the World?

By Atlantic Council

China Democratic Transitions

In the News

Jan 5, 2022

The CBDC Tracker was featured in Yahoo Finance discussing Boston Fed’s plan to develop digital dollar

By GeoEconomics Center

Read the full article here

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

In the News

Jan 5, 2022

Ullman in UPI: Possibility of a Jan. 6 redux shows bleakness of American politics

In the News

Jan 5, 2022

The CBDC Tracker was featured in Yahoo Finance discussing Boston Fed’s plan to develop digital dollar

By GeoEconomics Center

Read the full article here

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

Insights & Impact

Jan 3, 2022

Amb. Samad in Policy Magazine: Addressing Afghanistan’s Turmoil of Wicked Problems

By Atlantic Council

Indo-Pacific South Asia

In the News

Jan 3, 2022

Jain in The Hill: It’s time for an alliance of democracies

On December 20, The Hill published a joint op-ed by Scowcroft Center director for democratic order Ash Jain and executive director of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation Jonas Parello-Plesner. In the piece, they argued for the establishment of an Alliance of Democracies to bring together the United States, its allies in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, […]

Indo-Pacific International Organizations
Load More