Scowcroft Center Research & Reports

Atlantic Council Commission on Software-Defined Warfare: Final report

By Whitney M. McNamara, Peter Modigliani, Tate Nurkin

The Atlantic Council Commission on Software-Defined Warfare presents a software-defined warfare approach, offering recommendations for the DoD to adopt modern software practices and seamlessly integrate them into existing platforms to enhance and strengthen defense strategies.

Clarity is power: The Trump administration needs a new US Navy Navigation Plan

By Bruce Stubbs

The US Navy’s current Navigation Plan (NAVPLAN) is an insufficient document. Bruce Stubbs writes that the Navy must embrace the red and identify course corrections and promote greater clarity, specificity, and transparency in its guidance.

China’s exploitation of overseas ports and bases

By Thomas X. Hammes

The control and administration of overseas ports and bases by China poses a serious risk to the United States in the event of a potential conflict. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army could exploit these ports and bases to challenge control of the sea.

Making AUKUS work: The case for an Indo-Pacific defense innovation consortium

By Elliot Silverberg, Jacob Sharpe, and Rob Murray

The AUKUS partnership, focused on defense innovation in the Indo-Pacific, faces challenges in technology-sharing due to regulations like ITAR and EAR. The proposed Indo-Pacific Strategic Partnership for Accelerated Research and Knowledge in Defense (SPARK) aims to overcome these barriers, fostering faster co-development and co-production of advanced defense technologies

Issue brief: A NATO strategy for countering Russia

By Ian Brzezinski, Ryan Arick

Russia poses the most direct and growing threat to NATO member states’ security. This threat now includes the war in Ukraine, militarization in the Arctic, hybrid warfare, and arms control violations. Despite NATO’s military and economic superiority, a unified and effective strategy is essential to counter Russia’s aggression.

To secure Taiwan, the United States must first secure Ukraine

By Brian Kerg

US defense priorities appear to be at a crossroads. Can the United States materially sustain Ukraine in its fight with Russia while preparing for a possible fight with China in defense of Taiwan?

Deterring Chinese aggression takes real-time intelligence

By Scott D. Berrier

LTG (R) Scott D. Berrier argues that transforming the Intelligence Communit’s early-warning system and attaining real-time awareness is crucial to deterring Chinese aggression.

Six ‘snow leopards’ to watch for in 2025

By Emily Milliken, Imran Bayoumi, Ginger Matchett, Srujan Palkar, Sydney Sherry

Atlantic Council foresight experts spot the underappreciated phenomena that could have outsized impact on the world, driving global change and shaping the future.

Welcome to 2035: What the world could look like in ten years, according to more than 350 experts

In the fall of 2024 after the outcome of the US presidential election, the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security surveyed the future, asking leading global strategists and foresight practitioners around the world to answer our most burning questions about the biggest drivers of change over the next ten years. Here are the full results.

Three worlds in 2035: Imagining scenarios for how the world could be transformed over the next decade

2024 was marked by increased climate shocks and collaboration of autocratic adversaries. What will the world look like in the next decade? The Atlantic Council’s top experts brought their globe-spanning expertise to the task of forecasting three different scenarios for the future.