In-depth research and reports

Our programs and centers deliver relevant, policy-focused research that matters to inform debate and action. Our focus is always on moving debate forward, integrating analysis with active, relevant conclusions throughout our published work.

Report

Feb 3, 2016

Economic recovery and revitalization

By Middle East Strategy Task Force

Even as the specter of political instability weighs heavily on the region, the Middle East is quietly experiencing a technological and societal transformation that could hold the keys to a better future.

Economy & Business Education

Issue Brief

Jan 29, 2016

Harnessing Communications and Public Diplomacy

By Mark Seip

Read the Issue Brief (PDF) Largely neglected after the end of the Cold War, the use of information and public diplomacy to influence audiences and help achieve national objectives is making a comeback. This comeback however is not from the United States, but from actors such as ISIS, Russia, and China, whose objectives often run […]

Report

Jan 20, 2016

Surging liquefied natural gas trade: How US exports will benefit European and global gas supply diversity, competition, and security

By Bud Coote

The EU's move toward a freer energy market and a global shift toward gas by climate-conscious consumers are likely to help fuel growing demand for US liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the coming years

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Jan 11, 2016

Nigeria’s oil revenue crunch

By Aaron Sayne and Aubrey Hruby

As oil prices fall to their lowest in decades, Nigeria's oil revenue has plummeted nearly $2 billion since the start of 2014. What is the impact of falling oil prices and increased competition on the economy and stability in Nigeria?

Africa Corruption

Report

Dec 16, 2015

Diversifying African Trade: The road to progress

By Aubrey Hruby

As World Trade Organization members meet in Nairobi, Kenya, for their 2015 Ministerial, the potential economic impact of African trade—for Africa, but also the rest of the world—has never been more relevant. Home to thirty-three of the world’s least developed countries and only responsible for 3 percent of global trade, Africa stands to reap enormous […]

Africa East Africa

Issue Brief

Dec 3, 2015

ISIS war game III: The final phase

By Bilal Y. Saab

September 2015 marked the one-year anniversary of President Barack Obama’s speech outlining the administration’s strategy to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Yet, ISIS celebrated in June its own first-year anniversary of setting up a state by conducting three nearly simultaneous terrorist operations in three different countries—France, Tunisia, and […]

Iraq Middle East

Report

Dec 2, 2015

Global system on the brink: pathways toward a new normal

By Dr. Mathew Burrows and Professor Alexander Dynkin

In keeping with previous forecasting works published by the Atlantic Council and the IMEMO, the study examines current trends and potential scenarios for global developments over the next twenty years.

Conflict Russia

Issue Brief

Dec 1, 2015

Renewable energy’s coming of age: A disruptive technology?

By Robert A. Manning

The eyes of the world are on the United Nations Climate Conference, also known as COP21, as leaders from around the world are gathered in Paris in an effort to combat the effects of climate change. It's one of the best chances we have to mitigate these harmful effects are renewable technologies, so what is the future of adopting renewable energy?

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment

Issue Brief

Nov 24, 2015

Nordstream 2: Too many obstacles, legal, economic, and political to be delivered?

By Alan Riley

While Nordstream 2 may once have seemed a politically and economically viable project, the Ukraine crisis has so altered the landscape that Gazprom may have taken on a project that is undeliverable.

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

Report

Nov 23, 2015

The Korean Pivot and the Return of Great Power Politics in Northeast Asia

By Sungtae Jacky Park

As China reemerges, Japan revitalizes, and the United States rebalances toward Asia, competition over Korea will likely return. In The Korean Pivot and the Return of Great Power Politics in Northeast Asia, Sungtae Jacky Park examines Korea’s strategies toward great powers, discusses the future of the strategic dynamic on the Korean peninsula, explores the potential […]

Korea

Report

Nov 18, 2015

Developing a western energy strategy for the Black Sea region and beyond

By Ariel Cohen

In Developing a Western Energy Strategy for the Black Sea Region and Beyond, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and Global Energy Center Ariel Cohen addresses the urgent need for a European policy on Black Sea energy following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. Dr. Cohen, himself a native of Yalta in Crimea, […]

Russia Ukraine

Report

Nov 16, 2015

Iran’s energy policy after the nuclear deal

By Sara Vakhshouri

Following the lifting of sanctions on Iran's all-important gas and oil sector, Tehran will seek to develop an "economy of resistance" by building out commercial relationships that increase other states' reliance on it.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Report

Nov 13, 2015

Japan’s security role and capabilities in the 2020s

By Roger Cliff

Security challenges in East Asia are becoming acute. North Korea is developing a missile-deliverable nuclear weapon, and the long-term stability of the Pyongyang regime is questionable. Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of Chinese territory, is about to have a presidential election in which a candidate from a pro-independence party is the front-runner. China has […]

Defense Policy Japan

Report

Nov 12, 2015

Path to peace and prosperity the Colombian miracle

By Miguel Silva

  Colombia approaches the third anniversary of the negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on November 19 at a time of heightened expectations that peace is within reach. The Atlantic Council report, The Path to Peace and Prosperity: The Colombian Miracle, warns that peace will not be inexpensive and calls for deep […]

Colombia

Art of Future Warfare

Nov 12, 2015

War Stories from the Future

By Art of Future Warfare Project

Download the Mobi version Download the ePub version Read the Book (PDF) *Epub files are supported by Apple (iBooks), Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Sony Reader, Android devices, and many more. Mobi files can be downloaded on Amazon’s Kindle. “The authors in this anthology invite us to shed the shackles that bind us to our current […]

Issue Brief

Oct 29, 2015

The Militarization of Crimea under Russian Occupation

By Andrii Klymenko

Read the Issue Brief (PDF) In “The Militarization of Crimea under Russian Occupation,” Crimean activist Andrii Klymenko explains how the Kremlin has moved to tighten its grip on Crimea as the world turns its focus toward Syria. Indeed, Russia has proven itself to be settling in for the long haul in Crimea, with mass relocations […]

Russia Ukraine
Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin's War in Ukraine

Report

Oct 15, 2015

Hiding in plain sight: Putin’s war in Ukraine

By Maksymilian Czuperski, John Herbst, Eliot Higgins, Alina Polyakova, Damon Wilson

Drawing upon open source information, Hiding in Plain Sight: Putin's War in Ukraine provides irrefutable evidence of direct Russian military involvement in eastern Ukraine.

Conflict Disinformation
President Ghani

Issue Brief

Oct 14, 2015

Afghanistan and US security

By South Asia Center

It is the core purpose of the Atlantic Council to foster bipartisan support for policies that promote the security of the United States and the transatlantic community. The signatories of this piece have either served in Afghanistan, been involved in the formation of US policy in government, or otherwise devoted considerable time to Afghan affairs. […]

Afghanistan Conflict

Issue Brief

Oct 13, 2015

Crude oil for natural gas: Prospects for Iran-Saudi reconciliation

By Jean-Francois Seznec

Despite the sectarian barbs traded between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Iran's unique ability to meet the kingdom's fast growing demand for electricity may help spur a reconciliation, and the two dominant energy producers do not necessarily need to see their energy production as competition.

Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security

Issue Brief

Oct 9, 2015

Tunisia: The last Arab Spring country

By Mohsin Khan and Karim Mezran

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a civil society group comprising the Tunisian General Labor Union; the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade, and Handicrafts; the Tunisian Human Rights League; and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 9, 2015 “for its decisive contribution to the […]

North Africa