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.

Charles Michel on renewing EU-US ties: ‘For global challenges, we need global solutions’

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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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

Feb 10, 2021

Charles Michel on renewing EU-US ties: ‘For global challenges, we need global solutions’

By Larry Luxner

“With the new Biden administration, there is [in] Europe a feeling of hope and the expectation that it will be possible… to rebuild a very strong alliance—what I have called a ‘new founding pact’ between the United States and Europe,” said European Council President Charles Michel.

China Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Feb 10, 2021

Biden needs a new Pakistan policy. This is what it should look like.

By Shamila N. Chaudhary

The United States has an opportunity to move on from the sordid history of US-Pakistan relations. Strategic imperatives in both Islamabad and Washington have provided a rare opening, one that if explored effectively could serve US regional interests positively and also provide impetus for change in Pakistan.

China Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Feb 9, 2021

The world reacts to ‘The Longer Telegram’

By Atlantic Council

In the days since its publication, the paper has sparked debate everywhere from India and Pakistan to Britain, Singapore, and China itself, where it has elicited sharp criticism from the Foreign Ministry and a slew of pieces in the state-run Global Times.

China Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Feb 8, 2021

The ‘blocking statute’: China’s new attempt to subvert US sanctions

By David Mortlock

China’s new blocking statute appears to be an attempt to blunt the impact of the threat of sanctions on additional Chinese companies for conducting business with sanctioned countries. If effectively implemented, the statute could force international companies to choose between potentially running afoul of US sanctions or risking retaliation from Beijing.

China Economy & Business

Global Energy Forum

Feb 8, 2021

How to design an energy transition that includes everyone—including the most vulnerable

By Katherine Golden

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed an “interdependent” world with “huge issues of inequity,” said Sunita Narain, director general of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Without addressing these realities, “we cannot deal with the virus, and it’s the same with climate change.”

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Feb 5, 2021

Emmanuel Macron’s plan to rebuild US-Europe relations

By Katherine Golden

For French President Emmanuel Macron, "the number-one priority in relations with the new US administration” is clear: to boost “results-oriented multilateralism.”

China European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 5, 2021

Developing countries are sinking in a world awash in cash. Here’s what the US can do.

By Jeremy Mark and Vasuki Shastry

Economic policy built on hope is bound to disappoint. What is needed is grant aid that does not increase debt burdens—and leadership based on a clear understanding of the problems facing countries rich and poor. That is where the Biden administration is positioned to make a difference.

Africa Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Feb 4, 2021

The big takeaways from Biden’s first foreign-policy speech

By Atlantic Council

President Joe Biden campaigned on a promise of renewed American engagement with the world after the era of “America First”—and the president’s remarks were designed to show that this shift is already underway.

China Cybersecurity

Seizing the advantage

Feb 4, 2021

Elevating ‘deterrence by denial’ in US defense strategy

By Erica D. Borghard, Benjamin Jensen, and Mark Montgomery

As the Biden administration reshapes foreign policy and makes decisions about how to invest in US military capabilities for the future, it should acknowledge the value of a denial-based approach to deterrence.

Defense Industry Defense Policy

Seizing the advantage

Feb 3, 2021

How the US can regain the advantage in its next National Defense Strategy

By Clementine G. Starling-Daniels, Matthew R. Crouch

To seize the advantage, the next US National Defense Strategy needs a paradigm adjustment, not a shift. In the next NDS, the Biden defense team must take a broader definition of competition if the United States is to succeed in deterring, defending, and shaping the strategic environment in its favor.

Conflict Defense Industry

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