Scowcroft Center Commentary, Analysis, & Reports

Experts react: The US and Israel just unleashed a major attack on Iran. What’s next?

By Atlantic Council experts

Atlantic Council experts assess the unfolding Operation Epic Fury and where it goes from here.

Toxins are an escalating global threat. Here’s how governments should respond.

By Asha M. George, John T. O’Brien

Recent cases in the news of poisons derived directly from plant or animal life highlight a danger that is too often overlooked in biodefense.

The US-Lithuania LNG partnership exposes the myth that there are ‘no alternatives’ to Russian gas

As US LNG exports grow, a Baltic ally that decided to break with Russia more than a decade ago shows the way forward for Europe.

National preparedness starts at the state level with governors and the National Guard

By Jeanne Thorpe and Sarah Wallace

US state governors must retain meaningful access to the National Guard as a critical, time-sensitive resource for their own populations.

What Rubio said in Munich, what Europe heard, and what comes next

By Atlantic Council

The US secretary of state delivered a notably positive message to allies at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.

‘Don’t allow deception to become reality’ on Taiwan, says Congressman John Moolenaar

By Katherine Golden

Moolenaar made the case for the United States to "push back" against the Chinese Communist Party's "false narratives" whenever they appear.

I was wrong about fighting China in 2025. But the US still isn’t ready for that fight.

By Mike Minihan

A retired US general reflects on his earlier and controversial prediction that the United States and China were headed for conflict.

Welcome to 2036: What the world could look like in ten years, according to nearly 450 experts

By Mary Kate Aylward, Peter Engelke, Uri Friedman, and Paul Kielstra

We polled geostrategists and foresight practitioners on our most burning questions about the biggest drivers of change over the next decade. Check out their forecasts on everything from the future of NATO to the rise of cryptocurrency.

The Global Foresight 2036 survey: Full results

In the fall of 2025, the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security surveyed the future, asking leading geostrategists and foresight experts 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. 

AI and the future

What does the next year, decade, and beyond hold for AI? We interviewed the Atlantic Council’s tech experts to learn more about AI's future, and whether it can help us better understand our own.

Global Foresight 2036

In this year’s Global Foresight edition, our experts share findings from our survey of geostrategists on how human affairs could unfold over the next decade. Our scholars spot “snow leopards” that could have major unexpected impacts over the next decade. And our tech experts put AI’s forecasting ability to the test.

Six ‘snow leopards’ to watch for in the decade ahead

By Uliana Certan, Nikita Shah, Ginger Matchett, Sarah Wallace, Dominique Ramsawak, Tatevik Khachatryan

Our scholars scan the horizon for the underappreciated phenomena that could have outsize impact on the world, driving global change and shaping the future.

The Marine Corps presence in Okinawa is critical to deterring China and North Korea

By Caleb Eames, Amy Cowley

Shifting US forces away from Okinawa would undermine deterrence in the Indo-Pacific by pulling critical rapid-response forces from the First Island Chain.

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.

Taiwan has been a strategic blind spot for South Korea

By Bee Yun Jo

South Korea is beginning to acknowledge that cross-Strait stability is increasingly a foundational element of overall regional security.