United States and Canada

The United States has enjoyed an unparalleled period of peace and prosperity since the end of the Second World War, due to its construction of a rules-based international order and maintenance of close alliances and partnerships. Canada has been a key partner for the United States, both due to their close economic links and their shared border, the world’s longest at 5,525 miles. Canada is also a key NATO ally for the United States and is active in international diplomacy around the world.

Content

Dispatches

Feb 20, 2026

NATO needs to define the substance of its 1.5 percent pledge

By Franklin D. Kramer, Hans Binnendijk

The Alliance must decide on the details for its new category of defense-related spending that allies agreed to at The Hague summit in 2025.

Europe & Eurasia NATO

Dispatches

Feb 20, 2026

How Trump and Erdoğan can turn US LNG energy dominance into Black Sea stability

By Nataliya Katser-Buchkovska, Landon Derentz

The US and Turkish presidents, along with the Ukrainian president, should strike a deal to open the Bosporus Strait to US LNG tankers.

Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security

Econographics

Feb 20, 2026

To bridge the transatlantic productivity divide, Europe needs structural reforms—and AI

By Hung Tran

Policymakers and investors should actively incentivize laggard firms to adopt productivity-enhancing practices and technologies.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Issue Brief

Feb 20, 2026

Four options for arms control after New START

By Amy Woolf

With the last quantitative limit on the world's largest nuclear arsenals now expired, Washington finds itself in a new and uncertain era, with less clarity about Russia’s nuclear forces, plans to upgrade its own, and growing concern about China's. The best option may be trilateral talks—but not about a new arms control treaty.

Arms Control China

Dispatches

Feb 20, 2026

What I heard in Munich: ‘We Europeans need a plan’

By Anna Wieslander

Hopes of a bold, unified initiative led by Germany, France, and the United Kingdom did not materialize at the recent Munich Security Conference.

Europe & Eurasia France
ACFP-Trade-feature

Podcast

Feb 19, 2026

Inside the Trump trade strategy with USTR’s Jamieson Greer

By the Atlantic Council

An AC Front Page conversation with Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.

Economy & Business Politics & Diplomacy

Dispatches

Feb 18, 2026

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.

Resilience Resilience & Society

In the News

Feb 18, 2026

Kroenig quoted in The Guardian on Secretary Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference

By Atlantic Council

On February 17, Atlantic Council vice president and Scowcroft Center senior director Matthew Kroenig was quoted in The Guardian on Secretary of State Marco Rubio's speech at the Munich Security Conference.

Europe & Eurasia Security & Defense

UkraineAlert

Feb 17, 2026

A bad Ukraine peace could ignite new wars in Russia’s former empire

By Joseph Epstein

If a settlement in Ukraine frees up Russian military resources without establishing credible deterrents against further Kremlin aggression, Moscow will have the means and the motive to reassert dominance elsewhere in its former empire, writes Joseph Epstein.

Central Asia European Union

Dispatches

Feb 17, 2026

Weaponizing the odds: Prediction markets as a new vector for foreign influence

By Matthew Wein

As these markets proliferate, policymakers should treat them as dual-use infrastructures that require deliberate guardrails.

Disinformation Economy & Business

Experts

Events