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.

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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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.

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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.

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

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Fast Thinking

Dec 21, 2020

Can Bibi and Biden get along?

By Shalom Lipner and Katherine Wolff

Few world leaders have been as close to Donald Trump as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has pushed policies—from suspected covert attacks against Iran to expanded settlements in the West Bank—that will likely antagonize the US president-elect.

Defense Policy Iran

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2020

To defend US elections, we must recognize that the fault is in ourselves

By Nina Kollars and Michael Rodriguez

It is time to put money toward state information infrastructure, to align public expectations with the pace of the democratic process, and to hold elected leaders accountable for lighting fires in information dumpsters.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2020

How the US and Europe should rethink their economic relationship in the Biden years

By Elmar Hellendoorn

If the Biden administration chooses a conventional approach to trade policy, it will not only deprive itself of a powerful instrument to shape international relations but also put US interests and the Western liberal order at a disadvantage.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2020

Sanctions against Turkey over Russian arms: Has the United States found a sweet spot?

By Daniel Fried

With its sanctions against Turkey's main defense-procurement entity, the United States may have found a sweet spot: sanctions strong enough to capture Turkish attention but not so sweeping as to shut down bilateral security and arms relations with a NATO ally.

Defense Industry Defense Technologies

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2020

To grow jobs, Washington must fight for US companies abroad

By Grant T. Harris

To expect US companies to match China’s resources and withstand its tactics without the full support of the US government is a farce. Washington needs a new approach—one that gives US companies a fair shot without adopting China’s style of state control or offering handouts to domestic companies.

China Economy & Business

Fast Thinking

Dec 16, 2020

How the Federal Reserve just set the terms for the 2021 recovery

By Nitya Biyani and Ole Moehr

This year was perhaps the most ambitious in the history of the US Federal Reserve. To weather the financial effects of the pandemic, the Fed kept interest rates low and injected an unprecedented amount of funds into the economy.

Economy & Business United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2020

Europe’s new legislative proposals mark a big ‘first move’ on tech-market power

By Eileen Kannengeiser and Jörn Fleck

On December 15, the European Commission unveiled its long-anticipated legislative proposals—the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act—in a move that may further deepen transatlantic divides over digital commerce.

Digital Policy European Union

Fast Thinking

Dec 16, 2020

FAST THINKING: The Fed caps its most important year ever

By Atlantic Council

The Fed increased QE to unprecedented levels to keep financial fallout from the pandemic at bay. That, combined with the Fed’s move to lower its benchmark interest rate to zero, made this the most important year in the history of US monetary policy.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2020

The top ten risks and opportunities for 2021

By Mathew Burrows, Robert A. Manning

COVID-19, the kind of “grey swan” event that is predicted but never pinpointed in time, finally came calling in 2020. Drawing on years of foresight experience at the US National Intelligence Council, we are assessing the top 10 risks and opportunities in the new year, for the US in particular, but with global implications.

Africa Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2020

To succeed, intra-Afghan talks must defer to the non-ideal

By Muska Dastageer

The negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban should just as much center on the question of whether we should ground political morality in a vision of a distinct Islamic polity (that of the Taliban or the Afghan government), or a non-ideal mode of Islamic governance reflecting the second-order and third-order preferences of the parties.

Afghanistan Conflict

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