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

EnergySource

Nov 9, 2026

Why Belgrade’s new government should not let the Vertical Gas Corridor slip

By Olivier Van Pelt

Serbia’s incoming government should stay the course on the Vertical Gas Corridor to advance economic growth, energy security, and market transparency in line with the Student List’s reform agenda.

Central Europe Energy & Environment

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
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Latest in-depth research and reports

Issue Brief

Nov 6, 2026

To settle Russia’s Ukraine war, Europe needs to let Kyiv in. Trump can help (really).

By James Batchik, Andrew D’Anieri

Any deal to end the war in Ukraine must fix a date for Kyiv to join the EU, but countless hurdles stand in the way. Washington has the leverage to help Brussels clear them—if it can use that leverage in a new way.

European Union Political Reform

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
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Content

In the News

Feb 28, 2021

Khoury quoted in Al Jazeera on the fight for Marib in Yemen
Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

Op-Ed

Feb 26, 2021

Akbar in The Washington Post: Afghans are living in terror. That must change for peace.

By Shaharzad Akbar

"It’s now been a year since the United States signed an agreement with the Taliban. Afghans were expecting peace, but one of the most tangible changes has been an increase in targeted killings, mostly unclaimed, that have created an environment of terror and fear," writes Shaharzad Akbar in The Washington Post Opinion.

Afghanistan Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Ashford on the Brussels Sprouts podcast

By Atlantic Council

On February 26, Emma Ashford joined Thomas Wright, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Carisa Nietsche to discuss the future of America’s democracy promotion efforts abroad and what the US government can do to preserve American democracy at home. More about our expert

Americas Democratic Transitions

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Ashford in Inkstick: It’s time to leave Afghanistan

By Atlantic Council

On February 26, Emma Ashford published an opinion piece on the future of U.S. presence in Afghanistan in Inkstick. “It’s not often that President Donald Trump made life better for his successor. But Afghanistan may be the rare exception. After a twenty-year war, the Trump administration’s deal with the Taliban offers the opportunity for removal […]

Afghanistan National Security

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Manning in the National Interest: Offshore balancing strategy can correct America’s Middle East approach

By Atlantic Council

Robert Manning writes in the National Interest about how the United States’s approach to the Middle East requires a new mindset.

Defense Policy English

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Fontenrose quoted in Tasnim News Agency on possible US actions following release of Khashoggi report
Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Middle East

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Khoury quoted in TRT World on the Houthis’ fight for Marib
Conflict Middle East

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Qaddour joins The World to discuss the political and humanitarian implications of US airstrikes in Syria
Human Rights Middle East

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Slavin quoted in Politico on Iran’s nuclear stockpile
Iran Middle East

In the News

Feb 26, 2021

Fontenrose quoted in Foreign Policy on US airstrikes in Syria
Conflict Extremism
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