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

Podcast

May 8, 2026

So What’s the Strategy for China?

By the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Host Matthew Kroenig is joined by Kurt Campbell, chairman and co-founder of The Asia Group, to discuss former President Joe Biden’s strategy toward China, the Trump administration's strategic approach to Beijing, and Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Campbell most recently served as the 22nd US deputy secretary of state. Previously, as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, he was widely credited as the architect of the US “pivot to Asia.”

China Security & Defense

MENASource

May 8, 2026

New avenues for Syria-EU cooperation are forming amid conflict in the Middle East

By Marie Forestier 

The May 11 EU-Syria High-Level Political Dialogue marks a step toward a closer partnership.

Energy & Environment European Union

UkraineAlert

May 7, 2026

Putin is dragging Belarus deeper into Russia’s Ukraine invasion

By Hanna Liubakova

Belarus may not currently be poised to join the invasion of Ukraine, but Vladimir Putin is clearly intent on dragging the country deeper into Russia’s war effort, writes Hanna Liubakova.

Belarus Conflict
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Latest in-depth research and reports

Issue Brief

May 8, 2026

Can Friedrich Merz’s chancellorship survive?

By Phyllis Berry

One year into his chancellorship, Friedrich Merz heads a government beset by economic stagnation, low public approval, and coalition tensions.

Economy & Business Elections

Issue Brief

May 7, 2026

The new playbook for AI leadership: The case of the United Arab Emirates

By Trisha Ray, Ryan Pan, Raul Brens Jr.

This report is the first in a series by the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center assessing emerging artificial intelligence (AI) powers around the world according to a novel five-pillar framework.

Artificial Intelligence Middle East

Report

May 4, 2026

Powering data centers in emerging markets

By Phillip Cornell

This report examines how emerging markets are increasingly powering the next wave of data centers, with recommendations for policymakers.

Africa Artificial Intelligence
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Content

In the News

Oct 28, 2021

Nasr quoted in The New York Times: Iran Wanted U.S. Out of Afghanistan. It May Be Sorry the Wish Came True.
Afghanistan Iran

In the News

Oct 28, 2021

Sakhi with Notre Dame Events: Prioritizing Afghan Voices: How the International Community Can Assist Afghanistan

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan G20

In the News

Oct 28, 2021

Halaimzai and Sakhi in Middle East Institute: Women in Afghanistan: No Hope for Human Rights?

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Oct 28, 2021

Shahid in Scroll.in: Explained: Why religious fault lines are emerging in Tripura

By Atlantic Council

India Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Oct 27, 2021

Kroenig in the Hill on China’s hypersonic weapon test

By Atlantic Council

SCSS Deputy Director Matthew Kroenig quoted by the Hill in an article on China’s test of a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle.

Arms Control China

In the News

Oct 27, 2021

Ortagus warns about risks to Americans traveling to China

By Atlantic Council

Scowcroft Center senior advisor Morgan Ortagus writes for CNN on the risks of traveling to China as Beijing increasingly employs hostage diplomacy.

China Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Oct 26, 2021

Ahmad in The Wall Street Journal: How Pakistan won in Afghanistan

"For decades Islamabad played a double game, hosting the Taliban while posing as a US partner," writes Javid Ahmad in the Wall Street Journal.

Afghanistan Middle East

In the News

Oct 25, 2021

Bryza joins TRT World to discuss Turkish President Erdogan’s threat to expel the US ambassador
Politics & Diplomacy Turkey

In the News

Oct 25, 2021

Nurkin at ITSS Verona on the implications of artificial intelligence for drone technology

By Atlantic Council

Forward Defense nonresident senior fellow Tate Nurkin on how artificial intelligence will affect the use of military drones.

Defense Technologies Drones

In the News

Oct 25, 2021

The Federal Innovator Podcast 5: “Art, innovation, and storytelling”

Innovation comes in many forms. And while it’s easy to think of ingenuity in government as an upgrade to an aircraft or a new customer service, it could also look like an AI-powered light sculpture. This is exactly the case for The Smithsonian, which is on the verge of launching its “FUTURES” exhibit, the organization’s first major building-wide exploration of the future. In this episode, co-hosts Tim Irvine and Stephanie Wander are joined by Rachel Goslins, director of the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries Building.

Political Reform Technology & Innovation
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