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

Econographics

Sep 21, 2026

The four issues our experts are watching ahead of this week’s Trump-Xi summit

By Beth Baltzan, Jeremy Mark, Stephen P. Vaughn, Jessie Yin

From AI governance to trade and economic headwinds in Beijing, our experts break down the key questions shaping the summit—and what could come next.

China Economy & Business

GeoTech Cues

Sep 21, 2026

AI is sprinting past human control. Can testing and evaluation catch up? 

By Evi Fuelle, Ryan Pan

Frontier AI is exposing the limits of today's testing systems. The United States needs a national AI assurance ecosystem.

Artificial Intelligence Digital Policy

MENASource

Sep 21, 2026

The Syria policy the US got wrong—and the bittersweet moment Washington finally got right

By Wa’el Alzayat

A former State Department official dissects how the US helped defeat ISIS but didn't protect the Syrian people.

Conflict Democratic Transitions
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

Oct 26, 2020

Cohen in Forbes: Plugging into the future: the electric vehicle market outlook
Economy & Business Energy & Environment

Insights & Impact

Oct 26, 2020

Kadhim quoted in The National on Iraq’s view of the US presidential election
Elections Iraq

Insights & Impact

Oct 26, 2020

Wechsler quoted in Arab News on Gulf relations
Elections Middle East

In the News

Oct 26, 2020

Warrick featured on the Burn Bag Podcast

By Atlantic Council

On October 26, Forward Defense Nonresident Senior Fellow Thomas S. Warrick spoke on an episode of the Burn Bag Podcast titled “Defending the Homeland: Crises, Controversies, and Successes at the Department of Homeland Security.” In the episode, Mr. Warrick discussed findings of the Future of DHS Report, highlighting the changing threat environment facing DHS.

Cybersecurity Infrastructure Protection

In the News

Oct 25, 2020

McFate quoted in Rolling Stone on Blackwater’s use of mercenaries

By Atlantic Council

Conflict Security & Defense

In the News

Oct 25, 2020

Ellinas in CyprusMail: Hydrogen: the fuel of the future
Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

In the News

Oct 25, 2020

Busch in The Hill: American companies challenge Trump’s tariff narrative

By Marc L. Busch

Marc Busch writes that a recent case by a US company against President Trump's tariffs on China puts an unflattering light on the President's tariff narrative.

China Economy & Business

Insights & Impact

Oct 25, 2020

Wechsler quoted in The National on Biden and Trump’s foreign policy approaches
Elections Middle East

Insights & Impact

Oct 24, 2020

Wechsler quoted in Formiche on the Trump-Biden challenge in the Gulf
Politics & Diplomacy Security & Defense

In the News

Oct 24, 2020

Warrick quoted on election security in AP

By Atlantic Council

Thomas Warrick, the former deputy assistant secretary of homeland security for counterterrorism policy and and nonresident senior fellow with Forward Defense, was quoted in an AP article on risks to election security and the role of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CISA) within the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in countering those threats.

Coronavirus Cybersecurity
Load More