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.

Is the US-China strategic competition a cold war?

New Atlanticist Sep 4, 2025

Dispatches from Damascus: The state of Syria’s postwar transition nine months after Assad’s fall

On a recent trip to the Syrian capital, Atlantic Council experts took note of how far the country has come since the Assad regime’s fall and what still needs to happen to secure peace and prosperity.

New Atlanticist Aug 29, 2025

Twenty questions (and expert answers) about the negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

By Atlantic Council experts

August saw a flurry of diplomatic activity to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As September nears, Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what to expect next.

Conflict Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

New Atlanticist Aug 28, 2025

Germany wants to double its defense spending. Where should the money go?

By Atlantic Council experts

After decades of Berlin underinvesting in its defense, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has plans to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe’s strongest military.

Defense Policy Europe & Eurasia

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Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

Experts React

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.

New Atlanticist

Apr 21, 2021

Is the US-China strategic competition a cold war?

By Hung Tran

There has been a renewed debate on whether the heightened tension between China and the United States should be called a new cold war.

China Economy & Business

Fast Thinking

Apr 20, 2021

FAST THINKING: After the death of its president, Chad is on the brink

By Atlantic Council

After three decades in power, Chadian President Idriss Déby was killed following clashes with insurgents, state media announced Tuesday. What’s next for the country after the fall of its long-ruling autocrat?

Africa Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2021

The new challenge for NATO: Securing a climate-changed world

By Ahmet Uzumcu, Tacan Ildem, and Fatih Ceylan

Allied countries are becoming increasingly aware of the nexus between climate change and security. But there is so much more work to be done in this field—and NATO should set an example in achieving it.

Climate Change & Climate Action NATO

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?

Economy & Business Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

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

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