Atlantic Council of the United States [1] | |
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Formation | 1961 |
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Type | International affairs think tank |
52-0742294 | |
Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
Purpose | Atlanticism |
Headquarters | 1030 15th Street, NW, 12th floor, Washington, D.C. |
Location |
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Chairman | John F. W. Rogers |
President and CEO | Frederick Kempe |
Revenue | $68,020,533 [1] (2019) |
Expenses | $32,590,683 [1] (2019) |
Employees | 197 [1] (2019) |
Website | www |
The Atlantic Council is an American think tank in the field of international affairs, favoring Atlanticism, founded in 1961. It manages sixteen regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a member of the Atlantic Treaty Association. [2]
The Atlantic Council was founded with the stated mission to encourage the continuation of cooperation between North America and Europe that began after World War II. In its early years, its work consisted largely of publishing policy papers and polling Europeans and Americans about their attitudes towards transatlantic and international cooperation. In these early years, its primary focus was on economic issues—mainly encouraging free trade between the two continents, and to a lesser extent to the rest of the world—but it also did some work on political and environmental issues. [3]
Although the Atlantic Council did publish policy papers and monographs, Melvin Small of Wayne State University wrote that, especially in its early years, the Council's real strength lay in its connections to influential policymakers. The Council early on found a niche as "center for informal get-togethers" of leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, with members working to develop "networks of continuing communication". [3]
The Atlantic Council also works outside Europe and the U.S. It was among the first organizations advocating for an increased Japanese presence in the international community. Its Asian programs have expanded since 2001 as a consequence of the war in Afghanistan leading to the opening of its South Asia Center and Program on Asia. Climate change, and coordinating with India and China on these issues, were also a factor in this development. [3] [4]
In February 2009, James L. Jones, then-chairman of the Atlantic Council, stepped down to serve as President Obama's new National Security Advisor and was succeeded by Senator Chuck Hagel. [5] In addition, other Council members also left to serve the administration: Susan Rice as ambassador to the UN, Richard Holbrooke as the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, General Eric K. Shinseki as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and Anne-Marie Slaughter as Director of Policy Planning at the State Department. Four years later, Hagel stepped down to serve as US Secretary of Defense. Gen. Brent Scowcroft served as interim chairman of the organization's Board of Directors until January 2014, when former ambassador to China and governor of Utah Jon Huntsman Jr. [6] was appointed.
They expanded their efforts to Central and South America in 2013 when the Atlantic Council launched the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, named for Adrienne Arsht, a philanthropist and businesswoman who helped fund its creation through a $5 million gift. [7] [8] [9] The goal of the Center was to improve relationships and economic ties between Latin American Countries, North America and Europe. Their first director was Peter Schechter, who was chosen due to his extensive experience acting as a lead consultant on elections, polling, advertising, and media relations in the region. [10] [11] [12] As of October 2023, the Adrienne Arsht Latin American Center at the Atlantic Council has increased its influence across the Latin American region. With a focus on achieving greater socioeconomic prosperity, the Center has integrated political economy issues into policy-making and fostered collaboration with a diverse range of stakeholders, including governments, companies, and multilateral institutions. [13]
In 2017, Tom Bossert, previously a Nonresident Zurich Cyber Risk Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Cyber Security Initiative, was appointed Homeland Security Advisor to the Trump administration. [14] [15] [16]
The Digital Forensic Research Lab was founded in 2016, [17] to study disinformation in open source environments and report on democratic processes. Facebook helped fund the think tank's project in 2018, after donating a significant but undisclosed sum that placed it among top donors to the organization, such as the government of Great Britain. [18]
In 2019, the Atlantic Council entered into a partnership with the Hungary Foundation, a group funded by the Orbán government in Hungary. A series of strategy discussions was planned which would have included key US and Central Europe officials. In a meeting in Budapest that year, Atlantic Council members criticized Hungarian Foreign Ministry officials for limiting discussion of the state of democracy in Hungary. Following this, the Hungary Foundation canceled the project. In 2020, the Atlantic Council returned a grant from the Hungary Foundation and ended its relationship with the Foundation. [19]
The Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center [20] was launched in December 2020 [21] in a keynote event with ECB President Christine Lagarde. The GeoEconomics Center develops data-driven programs, publications, and thought leadership at the nexus of economics, finance, and foreign policy. The Center aims to bridge the divide between these siloed sectors with the goal of helping shape a more resilient global economy. The Center is organized around three pillars - the Future of Capitalism, the Future of Money, and the Economic Statecraft Initiative. [22] They produce cutting-edge data visualizations and research on a range of issues including digital currencies, China’s economy, sanctions, and the future of the Bretton Woods system. The Center has hosted a range of leading financial policymakers for major policy speeches including Brian Deese, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Janet Yellen, Gina Raimondo, Kristalina Georgieva, David Malpass and many more. [23]
In September 2021, the Global China Hub was founded to research three challenges posed by China's economic growth: China’s growing influence on countries, global institutions, and democratic values; the global ramifications of political and economic change in Xi Jinping’s China; and China’s drive to dominate emerging technologies and the consequences for individual rights and privacy. [24] [25] As of June 2023, its senior director is David O. Shullman, who also leads the Atlantic Council's China-related work. [26]
The Atlantic Council has, since its inception, stated it is a nonpartisan institution, with members "from the moderate internationalist wings of both parties" in the United States. [3] Despite its connections, the Council is by charter independent of the U.S. government and NATO, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. [3]
In September 2014, Eric Lipton reported in The New York Times that since 2008, the US organization had received donations from more than twenty-five foreign governments. He wrote that the Atlantic Council was one of a number of think tanks that received substantial overseas funds and conducted activities that "typically align with the foreign governments' agendas". [27]
The Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East was established with a donation from Bahaa Hariri and its founding head was Michele Dunne. After Mohamed Morsi was removed as President of Egypt by the military in 2013, Dunne urged the United States to suspend military aid to Egypt and called Morsi's removal a "military coup". Bahaa Hariri complained to the Atlantic Council about Dunne's actions and four months later Dunne resigned her position. [27]
In 2014, The Atlantic Council produced a report promoting the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) — a proposed trade-accommodation agreement between the European Union and the U.S. — with the financial backing of FedEx, who were simultaneously lobbying Congress directly to decrease transatlantic tariffs. [28]
In 2015 and 2016, the three largest donors, giving over $1 million USD each, were US millionaire Adrienne Arsht (executive vice chair [29] ), Lebanese billionaire Bahaa Hariri (estranged brother of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri [30] ), and the United Arab Emirates. [31] [32] The Ukrainian oligarch-run Burisma Holdings donated $100,000 per year for three years to the Atlantic Council starting in 2016. [33] The full list of financial sponsors includes many military, financial, and corporate concerns. [34]
The leading donors in 2018 were Facebook and the British government. [18] According to the Council, of its 2019 revenue, 14% (approximately $5.5 million) came from government donors excluding the US government. [35]
In 2021, the founding donor was Adrienne Arsht, and donors giving more than $1 million were the American Securities Foundation, Bahaa Hariri, Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, The Rockefeller Foundation, and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. [36]
In November 2022, the Atlantic Council hosted the Global Food Security Forum, which was co-hosted with the Gaurav and Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation, run by Gaurav Srivastava. [37] The Atlantic Council subsequently terminated its relationship with Srivastava "after it could not verify important details of his background" following reporting of the Guarav Srivastava Fake Spy Scam. [38] A Spokesperson for the Atlantic Council told Politico that it had returned funds received in 2023 for future collaboration, and that it "made the decision to terminate our relationship with Mr Srivastava in May 2023 upon learning new information because of our donor review process. For example, we learned that The Gaurav & Sharon Srivastava Family Foundation was not established 501(c)(3) in April of 2023, despite Mr Srivastava's representation to the Council that this was a registered foundation." [39]
Reena Ninan is a former member of the Atlantic Council, [40] Rockefeller Foundation [41] & Council on Foreign Relations. [42] She currently works as a presider of their public forums. [43] [44]
The Atlantic Council creates a meeting place for heads of state, military leaders, and international leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. In 2009, the Council hosted former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's first major U.S. speech, in which he discussed issues such as NATO's mission in the War in Afghanistan, NATO cooperation with Russia, and the broader transatlantic relationship. [45] [46] Members of the U.S. Congress have also appeared, including Senator Richard Lugar and Secretary of State John Kerry. [47] [48] [49] The Council hosts events with sitting heads of state and government, including former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, [50] [51] Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, [52] [53] and former Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga. [54] [55] [56]
Since January 2007, the Council has hosted military leaders from both sides of the Atlantic. The council's Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security has, held periodic events known as the Commanders Series, where it invites military leaders from the United States and Europe to speak about conflicts of interest to the Atlantic community. [57] As part of the Commanders Series, American military leaders such as former General George Casey [58] [59] and former Admiral Timothy Keating [60] [61] and European leaders like former French Chief of Defense General Jean-Louis Georgelin [62] [63] and Dutch Lieutenant General Ton van Loon [64] [65] have spoken on issues such as the Iraq War, the war in Afghanistan, and security threats in Asia and Africa.
Its annual events include the Distinguished Leadership Awards in Washington, DC; the Future Leaders Summit; [66] [67] the Wroclaw Global Forum in Wroclaw, Poland; [68] the Atlantic Council Energy & Economic Summit in Istanbul, Turkey; [69] and the Global Citizen Awards in New York City. [70] [71]
On February 22, 2019, the Atlantic Council released its Declaration of Principles at the Munich Security Conference. Frederick Kempe, President and CEO of the Atlantic Council, said it was "an effort to rally and reinvigorate 'free peoples' around the world". [72]
In August 2023, a senior Atlantic Council delegation led by former Lithuanian president Dalia Grybauskaitė visited Taiwan with support from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and met with President Tsai Ing-wen. [73] [74]
In 2016, the Atlantic Council drew criticism from the founder of the Human Rights Foundation for its decision to award a Global Citizen Award to Ali Bongo Ondimba. [75] Bongo declined the award amidst controversy over the 2016 Gabonese presidential election. [76] [77]
In July 2019, Russia said the activities of the Atlantic Council pose a threat to the foundations of its constitutional system and the security of the Russian Federation. Russia added the Atlantic Council to its list of "undesirable" organizations, preventing it from operating within Russia. [78] Russian scholars Andrei Tsygankov, Pavel Tsygankov, and Haley Gonzalez (2023) noted pro-NATO and anti-Russian bias in Atlantic Council publications. [79]
The United States diplomatic cables leak revealed that the Atlantic Council worked closely with Chevron Corporation and ExxonMobil representatives to undermine the Brazilian legislative proposal to grant Petrobras chief operator of the pre-salt oil deposits in the Brazilian coast. [80] Upon failure, the organization pivoted to undermine the institutions that held that legislation in place by openly supporting the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff [81] and the ongoing lawfare against Petrobras. [82] [83] After the legislative victory, the success of the first auctions was announced in an event organized by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars [84] and the main contributors to the Atlantic Council on this endeavour, [85] Chevron, [86] ExxonMobil, [87] Shell plc [88] and BP, [89] were awarded with pre-salt exploration contracts.
Kazakhstan's approach to foreign relations is multifaceted and strategic, reflecting the country's unique geopolitical position, historical context, and economic ambitions. At the heart of its international diplomacy is a multivector foreign policy, which aims to maintain balanced and diverse relations with all major global powers and regional neighbours. Kazakhstan is a member of the United Nations, Collective Security Treaty Organization, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, North Atlantic Cooperation Council, Commonwealth of Independent States, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and NATO's Partnership for Peace program. Kazakhstan established a customs union with Russia and Belarus which eventually became the Eurasian Economic Union. President Nazarbayev has prioritized economic diplomacy into Kazakhstan's foreign policy.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental transnational military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber. The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four continents, producing data and research on questions of defence, security and global affairs, publishing publications and online analysis, and convening major security summits. The Guardian newspaper has described the IISS as ‘one of the world’s leading security think tanks.’
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. CFR is based in New York City, with an additional office in Washington, D.C. Its membership has included senior politicians, secretaries of state, CIA directors, bankers, lawyers, professors, corporate directors, CEOs, and prominent media figures.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) is a nonpartisan international affairs think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C., with operations in Europe, South Asia, East Asia, and the Middle East, as well as the United States. Founded in 1910 by Andrew Carnegie, the organization describes itself as being dedicated to advancing cooperation between countries, reducing global conflict, and promoting active international engagement between the United States and countries around the world. It engages leaders from multiple sectors and across the political spectrum.
Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the ideology which advocates a close alliance between nations in Northern America and in Europe on political, economic, and defense issues. The term derives from the North Atlantic Ocean, which is bordered by North America and Europe.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is a non-partisan American public policy think tank that seeks to promote cooperation and understanding between North America and the European Union.
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs is an American international affairs think tank located in Chicago, Illinois, with a stated mission of "increasing knowledge and engagement in global affairs and empowering more people to help shape our global future."
The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. According to Arts Management Magazine, the Arsht Center presents artists from around the world, innovative programming from its three resident companies and local arts partners, free community events that reflect Miami’s identity and arts education experiences for thousands of Miami children each year. Family Fest, Free Gospel Sundays, CommuniTea LGBTQ+ celebration and Heritage Fest are among dozens of free events the Arsht Center presents to bring together people from all walks of life to celebrate each other through the live performing arts. Since 2020, the Arsht Center has presented more than 100 pop-up performances at hospitals, parks and libraries in communities throughout Miami-Dade County.
Georgia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) enjoy cordial relations. Georgia is not currently a member of NATO, but has been promised by NATO to be admitted in the future.
The Center for the National Interest is a Washington, D.C.–based public policy think tank. It was established by former U.S. President Richard Nixon on January 20, 1994, as the Nixon Center for Peace and Freedom.
Peter Schechter is an American political consultant and the executive producer and host of Altamar, a foreign policy podcast. Until June 2017, he was the Atlantic Council's Senior Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and the founding director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, a Washington-based think tank launched in October 2013 to study the trends transforming Latin America.
Damon M. Wilson is an American foreign policy scholar who serves as president and CEO of the National Endowment for Democracy, a foundation supporting freedom and democracy around the world. From 2011 to 2021, he was the Executive Vice President at the Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan think tank focused on international cooperation. A former civil servant, Wilson served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council during the second term of President George W. Bush.
Adrienne Arsht is an American businesswoman and philanthropist.
NATO maintains foreign relations with many non-member countries across the globe. NATO runs a number of programs which provide a framework for the partnerships between itself and these non-member nations, typically based on that country's location. These include the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council and the Partnership for Peace.
GLOBSEC is a non-partisan, non-governmental organisation based in Bratislava, Slovakia. One of its main activities is the annual GLOBSEC Bratislava Global Security Forum, in existence since 2005. Other projects include the Tatra Summit conference on European affairs or Chateau Béla Central European Strategic Forum. Its think-tank called GLOBSEC Policy Institute boasts a wide research area based on four pillars. Its main outputs are policy papers and analyses on different topics in the area of international politics and security issues. Since 2016, GLOBSEC is not only the name of one of the top forums on international security worldwide, but also of the legal entity and organiser of the Forum.
Erika Mouynes is a Panamanian diplomat and lawyer. Mouynes held various senior roles in the government of Panama, including serving as the 62nd Minister of Foreign Affairs.
In the context of the enlargement of NATO, Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty is the origin for the April 1999 statement of a "NATO open door policy". The open door policy requires a consensus in favour of countries applying to join NATO, as all member states must ratify the protocol enabling a new country to become a member of NATO. The open door policy "is aimed at promoting stability and cooperation".
A chief heat officer, or CHO, is a municipal public servant focused on combating the dangers of extreme heat and reducing urban heat island effects.
The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative is a United States diplomatic initiative launched by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in partnership with The Recording Academy at the U.S. Department of State on September 27, 2023.
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