In-depth research and reports

Dynamic stability: US strategy for a world in transition

By Barry Pavel, Peter Engelke, and Alex Ward

We have entered a new era in world history, a post-post-Cold War era that holds both great promise and great peril for the United States, its allies, and everyone else. This era calls for a new approach to national strategy called “dynamic stability.”

Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback?

By Mathew Burrows and Maria J. Stephen

About the Book:The world is in the throes of a nearly decade-long global democratic recession. Democratic breakdowns in strategically important countries like Russia, Pakistan, Egypt, and Venezuela are cause for serious concern, as are reversals in Turkey and Hungary. Using a combination of repression and noncoercive tools, governments are shutting down space for civil society […]

تمهيد المسار للسلام في سوريا: مقترح لإنشاء قوة وطنية سورية من أجل الاستقرار

إعداد: فريديرك هوف، بسمة قضماني، جيفري وايت انطلاقاً من برنامج الرئيس باراك أوباما للتدريب-والتجهيز لتحويل المتمردين السوريين الوطنيين إلى قوات برية لمقاومة الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام، يوصي التقرير بالتطلع إلى ما هو أبعد: تجنيد، وتدريب، وتجهيز، ونشر قوة وطنية سورية من أجل الاستقرار تكون مؤلفة من سوريين فقط. تلك القوة، التي بإمكانها أن تشكل أساساً […]

Setting the stage for peace in Syria: The case for a Syrian National Stabilization Force

By Frederic C. Hof, Bassma Kodmani and Jeffrey White

After four years of conflict in Syria, peace is still a distant prospect. The West insists that there is no “military solution,” while Iran and Russia provide the Assad regime with a military advantage obstructing the possibility of real diplomatic negotiations. With over 220,000 Syrians dead and more than half of the Syrian population displaced, […]

Brainstorming the Gulf: Innovation and the knowledge economy in the GCC

By Peter Engelke

In Brainstorming the Gulf: Innovation and the Knowledge Economy in the GCC, the report’s author, Peter Engelke, Senior Fellow for the Foresight, Strategy, and Risks Initiative in the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, highlights the successes that Gulf states have enjoyed to date and addresses the major hurdles to sustaining and expanding these successes.

Managing Differences on European Security in 2015

By Atlantic Council, Russian International Affairs Council and the European Leadership Network

This report is the result of a series of brainstorming sessions that took place between the summer of 2013 and the winter of 2014-2015, and between American, Russian, and European experts. The teams were led by Ellen Tauscher, the Vice Chair of the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and the former US […]

Artful balance: The future of US defense strategy and force posture in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab and Barry Pavel

A strategic review of US defense strategy and force posture in the Gulf is long overdue. In Artful Balance: Future US Defense Strategy and Force Posture in the Gulf, Bilal Y. Saab, Resident Senior Fellow for Middle East Security at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, and Barry Pavel, Vice President and […]

The Healthcare Internet of Things: Rewards and Risks

By Jason Healey, Neal Pollard, and Beau Woods

The Internet of Things of digital, networked technology is quickly moving to the forefront of society, the global economy, and the human experience. Individuals wear networked devices to learn more about themselves, their diet, their exercise regimen, and their vital signs. Doctors can adjust and optimize implanted medical devices, such as pacemakers, quickly and accurately—and […]

Morocco’s gradual political and economic transition

By Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran

In contrast to popular uprisings throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011, Morocco has emerged relatively unscathed, avoiding destabilizing political upheaval or economic impact. The case of Morocco has surprised many observers because its weak and problematic social, political, and economic indicators are much like those of the other transitioning countries. In “Morocco’s […]

Breaking the Cyber-Sharing Logjam

By Brent Scowcroft Center

The Internet makes everyone neighbors in cyberspace, connected by a digital infrastructure that serves as the bedrock of their communities. But despite pockets of excellence, the neighborhood-watch system is broken. Not all kinds of sharing are equal, as many organizations involved in cyber defense are net consumers—not suppliers—of shareable cybersecurity information.

‘Boom time’ for private security contractors

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘The Modern Mercenary’ author McFate says contractors fill security vacuum left by departing troops One of the biggest fallacies in Washington is that once the United States is done with private security contractors in Afghanistan and elsewhere they will simply pack their bags and head home, says Sean McFate. In fact, these private armies go […]

Preserving Ukraine’s Independence, Resisting Russian Aggression: What the United States and NATO Must Do

By Atlantic Council, the Brookings Institution, and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs

The Kremlin is waging a hybrid war in Ukraine’s east. Initially covert, Moscow’s intervention became increasingly open when it sent in regular army units in August. Since the Minsk ceasefire, signed in September, Kremlin-supported separatists seized 500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory. The ceasefire was an illusion. Despite the agreement, Russia continued to send hundreds […]

A transatlantic approach for the Arab world: Stability through inclusivity, good governance, and prosperity

By Fran Burwell, Danya Greenfield, Amy Hawthorne

A new Atlantic Council report warns against the tendency of Europe and the United States to sideline political and economic reform in the Middle East while they pursue urgent security priorities in this turbulent region. Instead, the transatlantic partners should forge a shared strategy to encourage political systems that can protect Arab citizens’ basic rights, […]

Antimicrobial resistance as an emerging threat to national security

By Maxine Builder

In Antimicrobial Resistance as an Emerging Threat to National Security, Maxine Builder, Research Associate for the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Health Program, outlines the growing threat posed by this issue, and its potential implications for national security, before positing several potential solutions and policy recommendations.

Addressing the food, water, and energy nexus: transatlantic perspectives and Africa’s great chance

By Peter Engelke

Addressing the Food, Water, and Energy Nexus: Transatlantic Perspectives and Africa’s Great Chance, a joint collaboration between the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center and the Strategic Foresight Initiative of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, examines how Africa can best leverage its food, water, and energy resources for sustainable development.