The MADCOM future

UkraineAlert Feb 11, 2025

How Ukraine’s shadow army fights back against the Russian occupation

By Omar Ashour

Ukraine’s resistance movement has evolved significantly in the eleven years since the onset of Russian military aggression, with a dramatic escalation following the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, writes Omar Ashour.
Civil Society Conflict
The MADCOM future

MENASource Jan 10, 2025

To help build the new Syria, the US needs to better understand the Kurds and Arabs of the northeast

By Ömer Özkizilcik

Washington should take note of the complexities in the region and not be bound by the past. The security of the entire region is at stake.
Civil Society Democratic Transitions
The MADCOM future

IranSource Jan 6, 2025

Blinded Iranian activist Elaheh Tavakolian: ‘We lost our eyes on this path. Let us not lose sight of our goal’

By Holly Dagres

Holly Dagres sits down with blinded Iranian activist Elahe Tavakolian to share her story and discuss the situation in Iran and what the West needs to do.
Civil Society Freedom and Prosperity

Content

Report

Sep 26, 2017

The MADCOM future

By Matt Chessen

Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) tools will provide propagandists radically enhanced capabilities to manipulate human minds. Human cognition is a complex system, and AI tools are very good at decoding complex systems. Interactions on social media, browsing the Internet, and even grocery shopping provide thousands of data points from which technologists can build psychological profiles on nearly […]

Americas Civil Society

UkraineAlert

Aug 9, 2017

Stanford program turns theory into practice in Ukraine and beyond

By Melinda Haring

Both Liakh and Sotnyk return to Kyiv with new ideas and a powerful network of experts and activists they can consult in the long struggle to transform Ukraine.

Civil Society Education

Report

Jul 14, 2017

Sudan: A strategy for re-engagement

By Mary Carlin Yates with Kelsey Lilley

Despite Sudan’s checkered diplomatic history with the United States, the Trump administration has an opportunity to recalibrate what could be a constructive relationship in a critical part of the world. In determining what a successful US-Sudanese relationship could look like, the administration has an opportunity to both serve US interests in Sudan and beyond and […]

Africa Civil Society

Issue Brief

Dec 7, 2016

Eritrea: Coming in from the cold

By Bronwyn Bruton

Eritrea has long been stigmatized as a regional “spoiler” by Washington, and despite little evidence of wrongdoing, the country remains under Security Council sanctions for supporting terrorist groups in Somalia. Now is the time to rethink that relationship, argues Atlantic Council Africa Center Deputy Director Bronwyn Bruton in a new issue brief entitled “Eritrea: Coming […]

Africa Civil Society

Issue Brief

Dec 7, 2016

Eritrea: Coming in from the cold

By Bronwyn Bruton

trea has long been stigmatized as a regional “spoiler” by Washington, and despite little evidence of wrongdoing, the country remains under Security Council sanctions for supporting terrorist groups in Somalia.

Africa Civil Society

Report

Nov 21, 2016

Middle East Strategy Task Force: Politics, governance, and state-society relations

By Tamara Cofman Wittes

Investing in sustainable governance is important for the world and for the rising generation of young Arabs, who can either become a force for tremendous progress or a generation lost to violence and despair.

Civil Society Political Reform

Event Recap

Nov 15, 2016

The battle for Pakistan: The fight against terrorism and militancy

By South Asia Center

On November 15th, the South Asia Center held a conversation on Pakistan’s National Action Plan (NAP), a document that specifies the government’s recommendations for counter-terrorism efforts. Mr. Shuja Nawaz, a Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council, discussed his recent publication, “Countering Militancy and Terrorism in Pakistan: The Civil-Military Nexus,” which analyzes the relationship between Pakistan’s […]

Civil Society Pakistan

Event Recap

Oct 13, 2016

The illiberal turn: Reasserting democratic values in Central and Eastern Europe

By Susan Haigh, Amelie Rausing

On October 13, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center hosted a public conference “The Illiberal Turn?: Reasserting Democratic Values in Central and Eastern Europe.” This conference was organized in partnership with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), the International Republican Institute (IRI), and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), […]

Central Europe Civil Society

Issue Brief

May 11, 2016

Congo blues: Scoring Kabila’s rule

By Pierre Englebert

Across Africa, leaders are tinkering with term limits and prolonging their tenures. In an increasingly unstable Central African region, Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), appears poised to be the next African leader to sidestep the relinquishing of power and the election of his successor, constitutionally mandated for November 2016. […]

Africa Civil Society

Report

Apr 13, 2016

Rebuilding societies: Strategies for resilience and recovery in times of conflict

By Manal Omar, Elie Abouaoun, Beatrice Pouligny

The forced displacement of unprecedented numbers of people within and beyond national borders has become an enduring yet fluid phenomenon across the Middle East and North Africa over the past decade.

Civil Society Conflict
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Experts

European Leadership Accelerator Participant

Slavina Ancheva

MPP Candidate and Belfer Young Leader, Harvard Kennedy School

Millennium Leadership Program

Central Europe Civil Society

Fellow

Peter Mandaville

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Freedom and Prosperity Center

Civil Society Freedom and Prosperity

Fellow

Amany Qaddour 

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Fellow

Diana Rayes 

Nonresident Fellow, Syria Project

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs

Arabic Civil Society

Staff

Aalaa Abuzaakouk

Deputy Director, Millennium Leadership Program

Millennium Leadership Program

Arabic Civil Society

Millennium fellow

Tricia Yeoh

CEO, Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS)

Millennium Leadership Program

Civil Society Indo-Pacific
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Events

Public Event Wed, June 25, 2025 • 10:00 am ET

New findings: Russian aerial attacks amount to extermination and persecution
Civil Society Conflict Crisis Management Russia