New Atlanticist

Sharp insights and bold ideas from across the Council

From climate change to the China challenge and the contest between democracy and dictatorship, the New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the US role in addressing them alongside allies and partners.

The Council’s flagship section features big ideas, groundbreaking research, lightning-fast expert reactions, in-depth analyses, and thought-provoking commentary to shape public policy.

FAST THINKING: Mr. Suga comes to Washington

New Atlanticist Mar 6, 2025

How European leaders are responding to Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Europe

From London and Berlin to Paris and Brussels, European leaders have taken several notable steps this week on security. This follows the blow-up between the Ukrainian and US presidents on February 28.

New Atlanticist Feb 26, 2025

Why the US should not lift sanctions against Russia

By Charles Lichfield

Sanctions are having an unmistakable effect, albeit below the inflated expectations of many in the West in early 2022. Lifting them now would be a mistake.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist Mar 5, 2025

The Egyptian plan for postwar Gaza is a good starting point—but it needs changes

By Thomas S. Warrick

While many obstacles remain, the Egyptian proposal could form the starting point for negotiations over a workable plan for postwar Gaza.

Conflict Crisis Management

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Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

Markup

Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

Fast Thinking

Apr 16, 2021

FAST THINKING: Mr. Suga comes to Washington

By Atlantic Council

President Xi, are you watching? US President Joe Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide to the White House on Friday. And his first in-person meeting with a foreign leader was designed to send a clear signal to China.

East Asia Japan

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2021

FastTake: What’s missing from US Intel’s 2021 Threat Assessment

By Barry Pavel and Ronald Marks

The Director of National Intelligence’s Threat Assessment for 2021 outlines the US intelligence community’s projection of the most dangerous threats to the United States over the next year. But when we don’t practice the art of strategic foresight, we may leave ourselves vulnerable to strategic blind spots.

Intelligence Resilience

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2021

Reading between the lines of the US intelligence community’s latest reports

By Mathew Burrows

What does it say about our system of government that hard truths are not absorbed? This year’s Annual Threat Assessment and Global Trends 2040 are blunt about the challenges facing the United States. But the warnings about China should have been heeded a decade or more ago.

China Intelligence

Fast Thinking

Apr 15, 2021

FAST THINKING: What the Russia-China moon deal means for the commercialization of space

By Atlantic Council

On this episode of Fast Thinking, Atlantic Council experts Divya Chander and David Bray explore what this announcement will mean for geopolitics and the commercialization of space—touching on space mining, the Artemis Accords, the Outer Space Treaty, and what we can learn from native cultures about the rights of our planet and others.

China Russia

Fast Thinking

Apr 15, 2021

FAST THINKING: Biden hits back at Putin

By Atlantic Council

Today the Biden administration hit thirty-two Russian government officials and entities, plus six companies, with economic sanctions in retaliation for the SolarWinds hack, 2020 election interference, and other Russian malfeasance. What measures matter most?

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2021

How much support does the Chinese Communist Party really have?

By Dexter Tiff Roberts

The precarious balancing act that China’s leaders have struck—one that mixes strident nationalism and policies that push overheated economic growth with overwrought propaganda—will continue to present them with daunting challenges.

China Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2021

Do continued EU data flows to the United Kingdom offer hope for the United States?

By Kenneth Propp

As the Biden administration and the European Commission “intensify” negotiations to re-establish a stable transatlantic data-transfer framework, Brussels separately is moving ahead to enable unrestricted data flows with two other major trading partners: the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea.

Digital Policy European Union

Fast Thinking

Apr 13, 2021

FAST THINKING: Leaving Afghanistan, twenty years later

By Atlantic Council

America’s longest war is set to finally come to an end, with President Joe Biden expected to announce on Wednesday that all American troops will withdraw from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. What’s the state of the nation that the US military will leave behind?

Afghanistan Defense Policy

Fast Thinking

Apr 13, 2021

FAST THINKING: Why economic development is key to addressing the migration crisis at the US border

By Atlantic Council

On this episode of Fast Thinking, Atlantic Council experts Rebecca Scheurer and Jason Marczak dive into the root causes of mass emigration from Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, and offer recommendations for long-term solutions to the underlying push factors that drive people from their homes—including crime, gang violence, corruption, and climate change.

Migration Northern Triangle

Fast Thinking

Apr 12, 2021

FAST THINKING: Did the Iran nuclear talks just blow up?

By Atlantic Council

Iran’s ability to enrich uranium for potential use in nuclear weapons may have suffered a severe blow on Sunday after an explosion knocked out power at its Natanz nuclear site, while indirect talks continue in Vienna around reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Will the explosion blow up those negotiations? And what will its impact be on Iran itself and the country’s nuclear program?

Crisis Management Iran

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