Foresight

The GeoStrategy Initiative’s foresight work assesses global trends and security threats impacting the complex and unpredictable future around the world.

Analysis Events Our Team

The new decade is in rapid flux amid geopolitical turbulence, economic complexity, technological disruption, demographic shifts, and social interconnectedness. In this changing strategic environment, the GeoStrategy Initiative’s foresight work focuses on identifying the key trends and risks that will fundamentally shape the future of humanity and global affairs. Our work encompasses a wide range of issues, including food and water security, climate change, critical minerals, technology competition, human rights, and global governance. It is always driven by the principle that foresight is a key mindset for decision-making.

Global Foresight

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.

Learn more Full survey
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Feb 10, 2026

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

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.

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Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Feb 9, 2026

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.

Artificial Intelligence Climate Change & Climate Action
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Feb 10, 2026

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.

Artificial Intelligence Technology & Innovation
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Feb 12, 2025

Global Foresight 2025

In this year’s Global Foresight edition, our experts share findings from our survey of global strategists on how human affairs could unfold over the next decade. Our team of next-generation scholars spot “snow leopards” that could have major unexpected impacts in 2025 and beyond. And our foresight practitioners imagine three different scenarios for the next decade.
Civil Society Climate Change & Climate Action
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Jan 17, 2024

Global Foresight 2024

In this year’s Global Foresight edition, our experts identify the top risks and opportunities for 2024. Our foresight team spots “snow leopards” that could have major unexpected impacts in 2024 and beyond. And we share findings from our survey of global strategists and foresight practitioners on how human affairs could unfold over the next decade.
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Dec 21, 2022

Global Foresight 2023

In this year’s Global Foresight edition, our experts identify the top risks and opportunities for 2023. Our foresight team spots “snow leopards” that could have major unexpected impacts in 2023 and beyond. And we share findings from our survey of global strategists and foresight practitioners on how human affairs could unfold over the next decade.
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Dec 21, 2021

Global Foresight 2022

The inaugural edition of a new annual report from the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, home for the last decade to one of the world’s premier strategic foresight shops.
Explore Global Foresight

Food Security

Foresight

Report Nov 11, 2025

The future of food in the Americas

By Peter Engelke and Matias Margulis

Though the Americas have traditionally been a food-secure region, even moderate shocks can have profound consequences for agriculture. But there are concrete steps policymakers can take to protect the Western Hemisphere’s breadbaskets from climate disruption, rising protectionism, and other risks. 
Americas Climate Change & Climate Action
Foresight

New Atlanticist Sep 16, 2025

The Americas are falling behind in new agricultural technologies. Here’s how to catch up.

By Ginger Matchett, Peter Engelke

If the United States and other countries in the Western Hemisphere hope to maintain their competitiveness, then governments should find ways to advance research and development.
Americas Economy & Business
Foresight

New Atlanticist Jul 15, 2025

How Canada can become a global food security superpower

By Ginger Matchett, Peter Engelke

Policymakers and business leaders will need to make significant progress across four specific areas to propel Canadian agriculture forward.
Economy & Business Resilience & Society
Foresight

New Atlanticist Jun 5, 2025

How to improve Latin America’s agri-food security in a changing world

By Ginger Matchett, Peter Engelke

The uninterrupted flow of trade in food and agriculture is not guaranteed. Leaders in the Americas should strengthen the region’s agri-food architecture.
Economy & Business Latin America
Foresight

Issue Brief Sep 9, 2024

Brazil 2050: A vision for global food security

By Valentina Sader, Peter Engelke

How can the world meet the growing demand for food while also adapting to climate change?
Brazil Latin America
Foresight

New Atlanticist Nov 14, 2022

Memo to the G20: The fierce urgency of food security

By Peter Engelke

The G20 must have the foresight and courage to embrace innovative and transformative solutions to the challenge of global hunger.
G20 Politics & Diplomacy
Foresight

Nov 11, 2022

2022 Global Food Security Forum Agenda

The agenda for the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s global forum assessing food security as a global challenge and offering bold solutions.
Foresight

New Atlanticist Nov 1, 2022

Global food security is on the line: Breaking down the stakes of the endangered Ukraine grain deal

By Atlantic Council experts

We turned to our experts on global food security and the war in Ukraine to explain why the deal is in peril and forecast what’s coming next.
Conflict Europe & Eurasia
Explore Food Security in the Americas

US-China Tech Competition

Foresight

Report Apr 16, 2025

Navigating the US-PRC tech competition in the Global South

By Cole McFaul, Peter Engelke

A landscape report analyzing China’s strategic tech engagements with the Global South and how the US can compete.
Africa Artificial Intelligence
Foresight

Strategic Insights Memo Nov 20, 2024

Assessing US-China tech competition in the Global South

By Hanna Dohmen

Discover how China is attempting to gain influence through technology competition in artificial intelligence (AI).
Artificial Intelligence China
Foresight

Strategic Insights Memo Oct 18, 2024

Toward a coherent framework for US-China tech competition in the Global South

By Peter Engelke, Samantha Wong

This memo provides strategists and policymakers in the United States and elsewhere with a coherent framework for understanding the competition between the United States and China for technological dominance with respect to the Global South.
China Technology & Innovation
Foresight

Strategic Insights Memo Apr 24, 2023

Assessing China’s approach to technological competition with the United States

By Peter Engelke, Emily Weinstein

This past winter, the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Global China Hub convened experts and officials in a private workshop to discuss how China views technological competition with the United States.
China Politics & Diplomacy
Foresight

Strategic Insights Memo Sep 18, 2024

Assessing China’s AI development and forecasting its future tech priorities

By Hanna Dohmen

The Atlantic Council convened experts to gather insights into China’s technology priorities today and in the future.
Artificial Intelligence China
Foresight

Strategic Insights Memo May 13, 2024

Developing an actionable framework to guide promotion and protection policies for emerging technologies

By Hanna Dohmen

In February 2024, the Atlantic Council Global China Hub (AC GCH) and the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) convened experts and policymakers in a private workshop to test an actionable framework designed to guide policymakers in identifying emerging technology priorities.
China Technology & Innovation
Foresight

Atlantic Council Strategy Paper Series Jun 27, 2023

Global Strategy 2023: Winning the tech race with China

By Peter Engelke, Emily Weinstein

The United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are engaged in a strategic competition surrounding the development of key technologies. Both countries seek to out-compete the other to achieve first-mover advantage in breakthrough technologies, and to be the best country in terms of the commercial scaling of emerging and existing technologies.
China Cybersecurity
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Other Featured Foresight Analysis

Foresight

Dispatches Mar 18, 2026

Attacks on desalination plants in the Iran war forecast a dark future

By Ginger Matchett

The attacks on desalination plants in Iran and Bahrain offer a glimpse into the dangers the region would face if water infrastructure is intentionally targeted at scale.
Conflict Energy & Environment
Foresight

Issue Brief Oct 9, 2025

Critical minerals in crisis: Stress testing US supply chains against shocks

By Reed Blakemore, Alexis Harmon, Peter Engelke

How can policymakers prepare for shocks to critical mineral supply chains and create mineral security amid a wide range of threats and challenges?
Critical Minerals Energy & Environment
Foresight

Report Aug 1, 2025

Defining Canada’s threat landscape: Resetting for a new reality

By Peter Engelke, Ginger Matchett, Samantha Wong

In a changing strategic landscape, Canada must reinforce its national security and confront the threats of geopolitics, climate change, and emerging technology.
Climate Change & Climate Action Defense Policy
Foresight

Issue Brief Jul 1, 2025

A US framework for assessing risk in critical mineral supply chains

By Reed Blakemore, Peter Engelke

Critical mineral risks to US national and economic security should be evaluated on a mineral-by mineral basis
Critical Minerals Energy & Environment
Foresight

Issue Brief Jun 28, 2024

Los Angeles and California: Environmental policy as a catalyst for cleantech ecosystems 

By Peter Engelke

California and Los Angeles have addressed climate change through innovative policymaking and technology, but face challenges which could undermine their success as leaders in tech and climate innovation.
Energy & Environment Infrastructure
Foresight

Issue Brief Mar 5, 2024

Cleveland, Ohio: Promoting a local and just energy transition

By Peter Engelke, Joseph Webster, Maia Sparkman

The issue brief focuses on the decarbonization pathway of Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland’s history shows that a concerted, collaborative effort can accomplish major conservation and decarbonization goals.
Energy Transitions Geopolitics & Energy Security
Foresight

Report Nov 30, 2023

Four scenarios for the future of multilateral peacebuilding and conflict prevention

By Peter Engelke, Anca Agachi, Imran Bayoumi

The scenarios on this page explore four alternative, plausible narratives envisioning the world in the mid-2030s, guided by dynamic interactions of drivers and trends highlighted in the larger The Future of Multilateral Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention report.
Crisis Management International Organizations

Latest Foresight Events

Public Event Tue, February 10, 2026 • 12:00 pm ET

Global Foresight 2036: What will the next decade bring?

Atlantic Council senior directors and experts discuss the direction global affairs may unfold in over the decade ahead.
China Economy & Business Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia
Online Event Wed, April 16, 2025 • 10:00 am ET

Navigating the US-PRC tech competition in the Global South

How can the US compete with China on AI in the Global South? A panel of experts discusses a new report on navigating the tech competition.
Africa Artificial Intelligence China Latin America
Public Event Thu, January 18, 2024 • 8:00 am ET

Global Foresight 2024: What will the next decade bring?

A moderated conversation, in partnership with the Financial Times, on the biggest drivers of global change in the next ten years.
Energy & Environment Politics & Diplomacy Resilience & Society Security & Defense
Public Event Wed, October 18, 2023 • 6:00 am ET

Combating food insecurity and malnutrition: A national security imperative

A moderated conversation, in partnership with the Eleanor Crook Foundation, on the nexus of food, nutrition, and national security.
Civil Society National Security Politics & Diplomacy Resilience
Public Event Tue, June 27, 2023 • 10:00 am ET

Tech race with China: Toward a comprehensive strategy

A moderated event discussing the launch of a report assessing the current state and future of technology competition between the United States and China.
China Cybersecurity Disinformation Internet
Flagship Event Fri, November 11, 2022 • 4:00 am ET

Highlights from the Global Food Security Forum

A gathering of leaders across government, industry, and civil society to assess food security as a global challenge and offer bold solutions for strengthening food systems, securing supply chains, and fighting world hunger. This Forum is co-hosted with the Gaurav and Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation, the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia, and the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investment of the Republic of Indonesia and takes place on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali.
Economy & Business Resilience & Society
All GeoStrategy Initiative Analysis and events

Our team

Staff

Peter Engelke

Senior Fellow, GeoStrategy Initiative

GeoStrategy Initiative Global Energy Center

Technology & Innovation

Staff

Ginger Matchett

Assistant Director

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Africa Americas

Staff

Imran Bayoumi

Associate Director

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

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The GeoStrategy Initiative, housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, leverages strategy development and long-range foresight to serve as the preeminent thought-leader and convener for policy-relevant analysis and solutions to understand a complex and unpredictable world. Through its work, the initiative strives to revitalize, adapt, and defend a rules-based international system in order to foster peace, prosperity, and freedom for decades to come.

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The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.

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