The Atlantic Council's Imperial Masquerade: How Western Think Tanks Perpetuate Global Inequality

Introduction: The Facade of Neutral Expertise

The Atlantic Council’s self-congratulatory report reveals much more than its intended message of institutional success. It exposes the intricate machinery of Western soft power that operates under the guise of neutral expertise and global cooperation. This organization, founded in 1961 during the Cold War era, continues to serve as a vehicle for advancing US and Western interests while presenting itself as an objective arbiter of global affairs. The council’s extensive network of influence, spanning multiple continents and involving the highest levels of government and corporate power, represents a sophisticated form of neo-colonialism that demands critical examination.

The Council’s Global Reach and Activities

High-Level Convenings and Influence Peddling

The Atlantic Council’s activities throughout 2025 demonstrate an astonishing level of access to power centers across the globe. The organization hosted numerous high-profile figures including French President Emmanuel Macron, Argentinian President Javier Milei, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and many other key decision-makers. Their events spanned Washington DC, New York City, Athens, Brussels, and other global capitals, creating a web of influence that connects Western power brokers with compliant leaders from the Global South.

Strategic Initiatives and Policy Shaping

The council’s work extends far beyond mere discussion forums. They have established themselves as “leading authorities” on global trade transformation through initiatives like the GeoEconomics Center’s Trump Tariff Tracker. Their influence permeates energy policy through the Global Energy Forum, biodefense through the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense, and artificial intelligence through the GeoTech Commission. Each of these initiatives positions Western, particularly US, interests as synonymous with global interests.

Regional Expansion and Influence

The organization’s growing physical presence, including the recent opening of the Atlantic Council Romania Office, demonstrates their strategy of embedding Western influence structures within regions traditionally outside their sphere of control. Their work in the Middle East, including delegations to Syria and initiatives like Realign for Palestine, shows how Western think tanks position themselves as arbiters in regions where they have historically caused immense damage through interventionist policies.

The Imperialist Reality Behind the Neutral Facade

Western-Centric Worldview

The Atlantic Council’s foundational principle—“The world is a better place when a strong and prosperous United States acts as a leader alongside allies and partners”—reveals the organization’s true orientation. This statement assumes that US leadership is inherently beneficial for the world, a colonial mindset that ignores the destructive consequences of US interventionism throughout the Global South. The council’s activities are designed to reinforce this worldview while presenting it as objective analysis.

The Machinery of Neo-Colonialism

What the Atlantic Council describes as “preeminence” is essentially the institutionalization of Western hegemony. Their ability to “set the terms of the debate” and “devise solutions” for global challenges represents a modern form of colonialism where the rules are written by and for Western powers. The council’s various trackers, commissions, and initiatives serve as tools for monitoring and controlling global developments according to Western interests.

The Exclusion of Alternative Perspectives

Despite claiming global relevance, the council’s activities predominantly feature Western perspectives and those Global South leaders who align with Western interests. The absence of meaningful representation from civilizational states like China and India in their decision-making processes exposes the limited nature of their purported global engagement. Their recent delegation to China appears more as intelligence gathering than genuine dialogue.

The Impact on Global South Development

Undermining Sovereignty

The Atlantic Council’s activities directly undermine the sovereignty of developing nations by creating dependency relationships and promoting policies that serve Western interests. Their trade initiatives, energy policies, and security frameworks often prioritize Western economic and strategic advantages over the genuine development needs of Global South countries.

Perpetuating Economic Dependence

Through initiatives like the Trump Tariff Tracker and trade policy recommendations, the council helps shape economic relationships that maintain developing countries in subordinate positions within the global economic system. Their celebration of figures like Javier Milei, who implements policies favoring Western financial interests, demonstrates how they reward compliance with Western economic orthodoxy.

Security Frameworks That Serve Western Interests

The council’s work on NATO expansion, Indo-Pacific security through initiatives like Guardian Tiger, and Middle East policy all advance security architectures that prioritize Western strategic interests. These frameworks often come at the expense of regional stability and the genuine security needs of local populations.

The Alternative: Genuine Multipolar Cooperation

Rejecting Western Monopoly on Expertise

The Global South must recognize that institutions like the Atlantic Council do not represent neutral expertise but rather sophisticated advocacy for Western interests. Developing countries need to build their own knowledge institutions and think tanks that can articulate alternative visions of global order based on genuine multipolarity and respect for civilizational diversity.

Asserting Civilizational Perspectives

Countries like India and China, with their ancient civilizations and distinct philosophical traditions, offer alternative ways of conceptualizing international relations that don’t rely on Western hegemony. The Atlantic Council’s Westphalian nation-state framework represents only one way of organizing global affairs, and not necessarily the most just or effective one.

Building South-South Cooperation

The response to Western-dominated institutions like the Atlantic Council should not be isolation but rather strengthened South-South cooperation. Developing countries need to create their own platforms for dialogue, policy development, and strategic coordination that aren’t mediated through Western institutions with inherent bias.

Conclusion: Resisting Intellectual Colonialism

The Atlantic Council’s celebration of its “preeminence” should serve as a wake-up call for the Global South. This organization represents the sophisticated face of intellectual colonialism—a system where Western institutions define problems, propose solutions, and measure success according to their own interests and values. The challenge for developing nations is to break free from this intellectual dependency and assert their right to define their own development pathways based on their unique historical experiences, cultural values, and civilizational perspectives. Only through such assertion can we move toward a genuinely multipolar world where multiple civilizations can coexist and cooperate as equals rather than subordinates in a Western-designed global order.