In-depth research and reports

Fighting Legacy: Media Reform in Post-Communist Europe

Few aspects of the process of democratization in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe are more important than the liberalization of the media. Unless free and independent media can be established on a sound financial footing, the new democratic institutions will be seriously incomplete. This study provides a survey of the experience of the […]

Missile defense in Asia

The Atlantic Council asked General Michael Carns, USAF (Ret.), Dr. Jacques Gansler, and Walter B. Slocomb to visit Asia to conduct in-depth discussions with political, military, and business leaders on all aspects of missile defense, including threat assessments, strategic implications, and the likely consequences of missile defense developments for the future security environment and the […]

U.S.-Libyan Relations: Toward Cautious Reengagement

This report discusses the future of US-Libyan relations. It states that the set of laws and regulations that govern US relations with Libya are outdated and recommends the countering of international terrorism as a principal objective for a new strategy. The authors suggest pursuing secondary objectives, such as energy security, containment of Libya’s regional ambitions, […]

Transforming NATO Forces: European Perspectives

By C. Richard Nelson and Jason S. Purcell

The papers in this compendium were prepared for a conference in October 2002 designed to illuminate European perspectives on the growing transatlantic military capabilities gap and on how this gap might be bridged. The conference was organized into four panels: the first focused broadly on capabilities, the second on “Spending More Wisely” initiatives, the third […]

Transforming NATO Forces: European Perspectives

The papers in this compendium were prepared for a conference in October 2002 designed to illuminate European perspectives on the growing transatlantic military capabilities gap and on how this gap might be bridged. The conference was organized into four panels: the first focused broadly on capabilities, the second on “Spending More Wisely” initiatives, the third […]

Risk and Reward: US-EU Regulatory Cooperation on Food Safety and the Environment

This policy paper addresses difference in US-EU regulatory policy in connection with food safety and the environment. The authors examine current trans-Atlantic tensions arising out of several areas of domestic regulations on issues surrounding food safety and environmental protection. Download the PDF

The Twain Shall Meet: The Prospects for Russia-West Relations

This paper examines the trans-Atlantic relations between the US, the EU and Russia. The authors analyze the process of cooperation between Russia and the West and discuss the process of the country’s inclusion into the western economy and security institutions. The paper focuses on three main areas: integration of Russia into the trans-Atlantic and global […]

Staying the course: Opportunities and limitations in U.S.-China relations

This paper discusses US relations with the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan. It is based on a report by a delegation of former military and defense policy leaders that were sent to visit Beijing and Taiwan to examine the longer-term issues in relations among the three countries. The paper concludes by offering recommendations for […]

New Capabilities: Transforming NATO Forces

This paper makes suggestions for the process of NATO force transformation and strategy development. The authors explain that in order to achieve successful future force transformation, NATO must focus on integrating information systems, deploying further precision weapons and creating a spearhead force as a catalyst for transformation. The paper states that the alliance must also […]

Elusive Partnership: US and European Policies in the Near East and the Gulf

This report presents the US-Middle East delegation’s assessment of European attitudes and its conclusions and recommendations for the policies of the US government. The authors analyze the history of US–European relations on the topic of the Middle East and discuss the European attitudes toward the problem as well as the directions and dynamics of the […]

Managing Proliferation Issues With Iran

Any government in Tehran will be inclined to seek weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missile delivery options given the realities of its strategic environment. These weapons might help Iran to deter potential external threats, to achieve equality with other major regional powers armed with WMD, and to attain self-reliance in national security, given the […]

Thinking Beyond the Stalemate in U.S.-Iranian Relations: Volume II

By Elaine L. Morton

This report examines the full range of US interests in the US-Iran stalemate and suggests measures that could become part of a new strategic approach. It identifies the major issues that will need to be addressed if US-Iranian relations are to improve. In doing so it identifies areas in which cooperative endeavors might serve the […]

The Bulgarian Defense Industry: Strategic Options for Transformation, Reorientation, and NATO Integration

By Jeffrey P. Bialos

This report identifies strategic options available to the Bulgarian government and its defense industry, as well as the United States and its NATO partners, for transforming and repositioning the industry for the 21st century and facilitating its integration into the NATO and European Union industrial base. Since other Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries that are […]

Thinking Beyond the Stalemate in U.S.-Iranian Relations: Volume I

By Elaine L. Morton

This publication addresses the stalemate between the US and Iran. It argues that the stalemate satisfies emotionally many Americans but does not serve overall US interests. According to the paper, it hinders the achievement of several key US geopolitical interests, especially over the longer term. Download the PDF

Enforcing the Peace: An American Bird’s Eye View

By David C. Acheson

This paper examines the factors that make peace enforcement politically and operationally complicated and undermine the will, the resources and the parliamentary consensus to undertake missions of peace enforcement. The author outlines two phases of the peace-enforcement process: one is a combat phase, the application of armed force to suppress hostilities. Phase two, presumptively a […]

Changing Terms of Trade: Managing the New Transatlantic Economy

The economic relationship between the United States and the European Union (EU) is in the midst of a significant transition. In the past, the dominant element of that relationship was trade. But in recent years, several new elements have become more prominent in the transatlantic economic relationship, bringing with them both challenges and opportunities. Download […]

Strategic Assesment of Central Eurasia

By Charles Fairbanks, S. Frederick Starr, C. Richard Nelson, and Kenneth Weisbrode

This assessment outlines a basis for U.S. national security planning related to Central Eurasia over the next ten years. The region covered encompasses the five former Soviet states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) and the three former Soviet states of the South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia). Download the […]

European Views of National Missile Defense

By Stephen Cambone, Ivo Daalder, Stephen J. Hadley, and Christopher J. Makins

In this situation, the Atlantic Council decided that it would be timely to send to European capitals a team of respected leaders and experts involved in the missile defense debate in the United States. Their purpose was to engage a wide range of European leaders and experts both inside and outside governments, in intensive dialogue […]

The Kosovo Crisis: The End of the Post-Cold War Era

By Alexei G. Arbatov

Just a couple of years ago very few people in the United States, Russia or Western Europe, beside experts on the Balkans, would have recognized the name Kosovo and still fewer would have known anything about this obscure Serbian province. Since early 1999 all the world’s attention has been concentrated on the events in this […]