Security Partnerships

Beyond traditional military alliances, countries around the world form important security relationships with other international partners. These arrangements include joint trainings, weapons acquisitions, missions, and exercises that build trust and reinforce global military and security norms. These partnerships help enhance the security of both partners by deepening the capabilities of each side and providing opportunities to learn from each other’s methods and cultures.   

Content

Dispatches

Jan 29, 2026

What the Indo-Pacific thinks of the new US National Defense Strategy

By Atlantic Council experts

Our Indo-Pacific experts share how US allies and partners in the region are reacting to the United States’ latest National Defense Strategy, which calls for them to take on a more active role in their own security.

Conflict Defense Policy

Issue Brief

Jan 29, 2026

Congress has championed the Abraham Accords. Here’s how it can push them forward.

By Adam Kozloski

This issue brief offers recommendations for Congress to reassert its leadership role in supporting the Abraham Accords.

Israel Middle East

MENASource

Jan 28, 2026

Syria’s Kurds could be al-Sharaa’s partners in rebuilding. Why did Damascus assault them instead?

By Amy Austin Holmes

The offensive on Kurdish neighborhoods was the third wave of sectarian violence after the targeting of Druze and Alawites.

Democratic Transitions Middle East

MENASource

Jan 28, 2026

Trump’s National Security Strategy doesn’t downgrade the Middle East, it redefines it

By Kristian Alexander

Trump's strategy is a sophisticated refinement of “America First.” For the Gulf, the implications are significant, but manageable.

Middle East National Security

MENASource

Jan 27, 2026

When UNIFIL leaves, south Lebanon still needs an international presence

By Nicholas Blanford

Absence of an international eye could encourage Hezbollah and Israel into actions that lead to renewed conflict.

International Organizations Israel

UkraineAlert

Jan 20, 2026

Ukraine’s best security guarantee is the ability to strike back inside Russia

By Serhii Kuzan

With Kyiv's Western allies unlikely to risk war with Russia, Ukraine's most realistic security guarantee remains a strong military coupled with the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia, writes Serhii Kuzan.

Conflict Defense Policy

UkraineAlert

Jan 15, 2026

Ukraine’s enhanced fortifications are increasing the cost of Putin’s invasion

By David Kirichenko

As Ukraine focuses on preventing further Russian advances, Kyiv is investing in a major upgrade of the country’s defenses. This has resulted in what The Economist recently described as a “massive fortification system” covering much of the Ukrainian battlefield, writes David Kirichenko.

Conflict Defense Technologies

UkraineAlert

Jan 13, 2026

Putin cannot accept any peace deal that secures Ukrainian statehood

By William Dixon, Maksym Beznosiuk

Putin has no obvious route to victory in 2026 but cannot accept a compromise peace as any settlement that safeguarded Ukrainian independence would be seen in Moscow as an historic Russian defeat, write William Dixon and Maksym Beznosiuk.

Conflict Nationalism

UkraineAlert

Dec 18, 2025

What’s in the new US defense bill for Ukraine?

By Doug Klain

The NDAA includes the best legislative support from Congress that Ukraine has received all year. At the same time, it also underscores the dramatic reduction in overall US support for Ukraine during 2025, writes Doug Klain.

Conflict Human Rights

Podcast

Dec 11, 2025

“Youth as merchandise”: Iraqi mercenaries in Ukraine

By Alia Brahimi

In Season 2, Episode 13 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by the Iraqi political analyst Mohammed Salih to discuss the legion of Iraqi men turning up on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine.

Iraq Middle East

Experts