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

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
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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
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Content

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

The CBDC Tracker was featured in the Axios newsletter on the global development of CBDCs

By GeoEconomics Center

Read the full article here

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

Insights & Impact

Dec 14, 2021

Shahid featured in Kaler Kantho: There are three ways to get out of the ban

By Atlantic Council

Indo-Pacific South Asia

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

Ashford in Foreign Affairs: “If dictators fear Western interventions, nuclear development is an unfortunate yet likely outcome”

By Atlantic Council

On December 14, Ashford was featured in a Foreign Affairs “Ask the Experts” roundup on the future of nuclear proliferation. “Two factors seem likely to push proliferation in the near term. First, the balance of power is shifting toward a more multipolar world, in which it is likely that smaller states may feel more threatened […]

English Iraq

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

Jain quoted in the Hill on Biden’s Summit for Democracy

On December 8, Scowcroft Center director for democratic order Ash Jain was quoted in The Hill discussing criteria for country selection and participation in the Biden administration’s Summit for Democracy. He argued that the summit should include democracies with shared values and exclude backsliding democracies and authoritarian countries.

Politics & Diplomacy Rule of Law

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

Temnycky in Focus Ukraine: Democracy Summit Can Help Georgia and Ukraine with Their NATO Aspirations

By Atlantic Council

The Caucasus Ukraine
golden lines of light

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

Towards a Better Internet

By Maxwell Kushnir

Some think our current Web 2.0 is flawed. Dr. George Zarkadakis, nonresident senior fellow at the Geotech Center, believes Web 2.0 is problematic and ays the intellectual groundwork for a new internet.

Digital Policy Internet

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

Ullman joins Anthony Scaramucci’s ‘Mooch FM’ to discuss his new book ‘The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD’

Harlan Ullman speaks with Anthony Scaramucci about the United States’ military footprint and whether it’s well spent, why you must “know the enemy,” and his new book ‘The Fifth Horseman and the New MAD.'

In the News

Dec 14, 2021

Amb. Omar Samad with Sputnik International, Former Afghan Ambassador Reveals What Has to be Done by Taliban to Gain International Recognition

By Atlantic Council

Indo-Pacific Politics & Diplomacy

Insights & Impact

Dec 14, 2021

Dr Ali Riaz with Tritiyo Matra: Summit for democracy and Bangladesh

By Atlantic Council

Indo-Pacific Politics & Diplomacy

Insights & Impact

Dec 14, 2021

Dr Ali Riaz joins BBC News, পুলিশ প্রধান বেনজির ও র‍্যাব কর্মকর্তাদের বিরুদ্ধে মার্কিন নিষেধাজ্ঞার অর্থ কী

By Atlantic Council

Indo-Pacific South Asia
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