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

Jul 29, 2021

Shared African perspectives on nuclear security and GeoTech

By Matthew Goodman

On the AfriNuke podcast, Geotech director Dr. David Bray discusses how technological trends of democratization relate to nuclear weapons, network devices, information sharing, and space.

Africa Nuclear Deterrence

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Fontenrose quoted in The Manoment Current on the withdrawal of US troops in Iraq

By Atlantic Council

Defense Policy Iraq

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Schuman in The Atlantic: China discovers the limits of its power

By Atlantic Council

On July 28, 2021, Michael Schuman published a story in The Atlantic exploring how China’s pressure campaign against Australia did not play out as the “unequal contest” that Beijing expected.

China Politics & Diplomacy

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

CBDC Tracker cited in Emerging Tech Brew

By The GeoEconomics Center

Read the full article here. Explore the CBDC tracker here.

Digital Currencies United States and Canada

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Friedlander’s House Financial Services testimony on CBDCs quoted in Quartz

By Julia Friedlander

Read the full article here.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Slavin quoted in The National on US support for Iran protests

By Atlantic Council

Human Rights International Norms

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Varshney in the Indian Express: What does it mean to be Indian?

By Atlantic Council

Civil Society India

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Ahmad joins Middle East Institute to discuss Bernard-Henri Lévy’s 2002 Report on Afghanistan

By Atlantic Council

Afghanistan Human Rights

In the News

Jul 28, 2021

Mark interviewed in the China Business Review podcast about the digital yuan

By Jeremy Mark

Listen to the podcast here.

China Digital Currencies

In the News

Jul 27, 2021

Garlauskas participates in Korea Economic Institute of America webinar: When is the right moment for an end of war declaration?

On July 27, Markus Garlauskas participated in a webinar held by the Korea Economic Institute of America titled, “When is the Right Moment for an End of War Declaration?” as a panelist in a discussion on what an official end of war declaration between the ROK and DPRK would mean for the peninsula as well […]

Arms Control Indo-Pacific
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