In-depth research and reports

The Saudi economy can hold out through year’s end—even if oil exports drop to zero

By Khalid Azim

First the Strait of Hormuz closed, so Saudi Arabia started sending more oil over land through its East-West Pipeline. Then drone strikes damaged the pipeline, and the Iran-backed Houthis fired missiles near the pipeline’s Red Sea terminus. Does Saudi Arabia need to plan for a near term without meaningful oil exports?

Building a multilateral cognitive warfare defense network: A collaborative framework for the United States, Japan, and Taiwan

By Yu-Hao “Vinson” Shen

Beijing is pressuring Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines not only with ships and aircraft but also in the cognitive domain—which no multilateral mechanism defends. This report explores what it would take to build a coordinated multilateral defense network to combat this threat across the first island chain.

AI data under the microscope: Accelerating and securing the AI data supply chain for the health and biopharmaceutical sectors 

By Justin Sherman

This report examines how health and biopharmaceutical companies interact with the data components of the AI supply chain, and how a fractured global regulatory landscape shapes their ability to innovate responsibly.

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.

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.

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.

Turning early alignment into a durable US-Colombia partnership

By Carolina Barco and Kevin Whitaker

One month into President Abelardo de la Espriella’s administration, early alignment with the Trump administration creates an opening to strengthen US-Colombia cooperation on security, trade and investment, regional stability, and Venezuela’s recovery.

Preparing for and countering limited nuclear attacks in East Asia: Guardian Tiger III

By Markus Garlauskas with John Park and Kyoko Imai. Contributors: Andrew Brown and Jonathan Corrado

The risk of North Korea launching a limited nuclear attack will likely increase over the coming decade. The United States and its allies are not preparing adequately to deter and prevail in the face of such nuclear strikes.

The right wing takes aim at the EU’s linchpin

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Germany's far-right AfD party is closing in on a once-unthinkable prize: an absolute majority in a state government. As polls show the party in the lead ahead of Saxony-Anhalt's September 6 election, can the center hold? 

Strengthening state presence in Colombia’s conflict-affected territories

By the US–Colombia Strategic Alignment Coalition

Colombia's new president has made restoring state authority in the country's conflict-affected territories a central priority as armed groups compete to control communities and economies. In the wake of the August 10 earthquake, the US-Colombia Strategic Alignment Coalition outlines how Colombia, with US support, can build lasting state presence.

What it will take to rebuild Gaza’s remote-work sector

By Avia Liberman, Melanie Robbins

Remote work could offer Gazans a path to income and economic recovery—but only if access to electricity, connectivity, and equipment improves.

AI and autonomy in contested operations

By Owen J. Daniels

Any potential major conflict the United States engages in will be shaped by AI and autonomous systems. US forces should expect their systems to operate in denied, degraded, intermittent, and limited (DDIL) conditions imposed by jamming techniques, cyber-attacks, and anti-satellite capabilities designed to sever the connectivity and wreak havoc on military operations.

Could a stablecoin jumpstart postwar reconstruction?

By Avia Liberman, Melanie Robbins

A stablecoin could give the Palestinian economy a secure, fast, and cost-effective pathway toward greater financial stability and autonomy.

Atoms for Appalachia: Building state capacity for nuclear-enabled economic development

By Lauren Hughes

Appalachian states, despite different industrial foundations, aim to convert interest in nuclear energy into broad economic gains. State-level strategies will be key.

An economic shock is coming. Boosting women’s economic opportunity may be the key to overcoming it.

By Jérémie Bertrand, Nina Dannaoui-Johnson, Annie (Yu-Lin) Lee, Caroline Perrin

With over a billion young people set to enter the global workforce in the next decade, policymakers must prioritize education and jobs for young women to advance prosperity.

Currency policy options for the Palestinian economy

By Avia Liberman

The Palestinian economy conducts much of its daily interactions in a currency it does not issue or control. Is there a viable alternative?

The future of money in Palestine

By Atlantic Council experts

Gaza needs more than billions in reconstruction funding. It needs a financial system that can move that money securely to households, businesses, and public institutions—and keep it from being lost, diverted, or blocked.

Opening Africa’s skies to trade, growth, and jobs

By Tom Bonsundy-O’Bryan

Air transport in Africa could be a powerful multiplier of growth, underpin regional trade, and fuel skilled job creation. What's holding the continent's air travel sector back?

A Colombia-Venezuela agenda for recovery, security, and economic growth

By the US-Colombia Strategic Alignment Coalition

The recent earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia have created urgent humanitarian needs that will require sustained international support. As recovery advances, the US-Colombia Strategic Alignment Coalition outlines how both countries, with US support, can build a cooperation agenda.

Sovereignty without borders: Decoding the transatlantic digital relationship at a time of change

An examination of the EU–US trust deficit and its implications for digital policymaking.