United States and Canada

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.

“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

Dispatches Mar 11, 2026

Twenty questions (and expert answers) about the Iran war

By Atlantic Council experts

As the US-Israeli war against Iran reverberates across the Middle East and the globe, Atlantic Council experts bring clarity to the fast-moving events.
Conflict Iran
“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

Event Recap Mar 6, 2026

Inside Trump’s long-term economic strategy, with EXIM Bank’s John Jovanovic

By Katherine Golden

At an Atlantic Council Front Page event, Jovanovic talked about the supply chains he is working to reshape, from critical minerals to energy.
Trade and tariffs United States and Canada
“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

Dispatches Feb 25, 2026

Why the Arctic matters to the United States

By Julia Nesheiwat

The region is rapidly becoming a geopolitical arena where Russia and China’s deepening cooperation challenges Western dominance.
China Critical Minerals

Content

Podcast

Jun 18, 2026

“Shoot everybody”: US contractors in San Diego court

By Alia Brahimi

In Season 2, Episode 16 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by Daniel McLaughlin, an international lawyer and Legal Director of the Centre for Justice and Accountability (CJA), a California-based legal nonprofit working on behalf of victims of torture and other atrocity crimes. Daniel and CJA are leading a civil suit in San Diego against a Delaware-registered PMC, Spear Operations Group, for war crimes in Yemen. They represent the Yemeni parliamentarian Anssaf Ali Mayo, who was one of the targets of an alleged hit-squad in Yemen. Daniel talks us through the facts of the case, how it ended up in a California courtroom ten years later, and which US and international laws were ostensibly broken by the PMC. He also argues forcefully that the US government has a duty to regulate how former members of its military use their training and know-how.

Middle East Rule of Law

Dispatches

Jun 16, 2026

New AI models are pushing open-source security to its limits. Their developers must step up.

By Sara Ann Brackett

Frontier artificial intelligence labs should contribute in meaningful ways to ongoing efforts to harden open-source software.

Artificial Intelligence Politics & Diplomacy

Report

Jun 16, 2026

Financing the end of the digital divide

By Kenton Thibaut, Jochai Ben-Avie

Digital connectivity has become a strategic geopolitical contest shaping the future of the global internet. This report examines China’s global digital infrastructure investments and the ways that the United States and its allies can leverage blended finance, partnerships, and policy to close the digital divide while offering a credible alternative to China’s expanding digital influence.

China Digital Policy

Inflection Points

Jun 15, 2026

There are a trillion reasons why this was a weekend to remember

By Frederick Kempe

Among a spectacle on the South Lawn, a deal with Tehran, and a tech leader's wealth reaching new heights, one stands out as an inflection point of our time.

Artificial Intelligence Politics & Diplomacy

Dispatches

Jun 14, 2026

Experts react: The US and Iran just announced an interim peace deal. Here’s what we know so far.

By Atlantic Council experts

As details emerge, our experts are sharing their insights on what we know—and still don’t know—about the deal, and what to expect next.

Conflict Iran

Dispatches

Jun 12, 2026

It’s not a ‘deal.’ But Trump’s memorandum with Iran can be the start of something bigger.

By Jonathan Panikoff

What appears to be emerging now is a rough outline and high-level explanation of the concepts that an eventual deal could include.

Conflict Iran

Dispatches

Jun 12, 2026

The United States needs more amphibious ships at the ready

By Caleb Eames, Amy Cowley

A combined Amphibious Ready Group and Marine Expeditionary Unit bring a tremendous capability, but only if there are enough ships available.

Maritime Security Security & Defense

EnergySource

Jun 12, 2026

How to build energy resilience in an uncertain, contested world

By Charles Hendry, David L. Goldwyn, Lee Beck, Phillip Cornell, Ben Cahill

Read the reflections of Atlantic Council experts on the 2026 Global Energy Forum that explored how the US, allies, and partners can fortify interconnections against the weaponization of energy.

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

Dispatches

Jun 12, 2026

Seven charts that will define France’s G7 summit

By GeoEconomics Center experts

As world leaders gather in Évian-les-Bains for the Group of Seven summit, issues from energy to artificial intelligence will be on the agenda.

Artificial Intelligence Economy & Business

Balkans Debrief

Jun 12, 2026

Unpacking the new US Western Balkans strategy | A Debrief with Fleck, Piscevic, Zeneli & Thorpe

Resident Senior Fellow Ilva Tare sits down with four Atlantic Council experts to discuss the new US report to Congress on policy toward the Western Balkans.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia
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Experts

Millennium fellow

Fatima Abbas

Director of Tribal and Native Affairs, Department of Treasury

Millennium Leadership Program

Politics & Diplomacy Rule of Law

Fellow

Grace Abuhamad

Former Nonresident Fellow

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Digital Policy Internet

Fellow

Elliot Ackerman

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Afghanistan Defense Policy

Staff

Iryna Adam

Research Associate

Digital Forensic Research Lab

Eastern Europe English

Fellow

Anca Agachi

Nonresident Fellow

Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security Transatlantic Security Initiative

Africa Conflict

Fellow

Paul Amato

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Missile Defense Nuclear Deterrence
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Events

Flagship Event Fri, December 11, 2026 • 8:30 am ET

2026 Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics

The Transatlantic Forum on GeoEconomics is an annual flagship convening focused on issues at the nexus of economics, finance, foreign policy, and national security.
Digital Policy Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia European Union