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.

Will India amend its approach to Afghanistan peace?

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

New Atlanticist

May 12, 2020

Will India amend its approach to Afghanistan peace?

By Javid Ahmad

As India considers its next steps in Afghanistan, it may well conclude that it can no longer remain a mere spectator in peace efforts. This may include more aggressive calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, seeking more clarity about Pakistan’s role in the peace process, and possibly seeking an observer role in the future intra-Afghan talks

Afghanistan Conflict

New Atlanticist

May 12, 2020

Cyber crises need strong collaboration: Reflections from Cyber 9/12

By Alexis Montouris Ciambotti, Manuel Hepfer, Matthew Rogers, and Yashovardhan Sharma.

Cyber 9/12 sharpened our ability to analyze an evolving situation and identify its key issues, adapt to unexpected changes, and recommend effective responses to manage the crisis.

Cybersecurity United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2020

A pandemic of persecution in Bangladesh

By Ali Riaz

Since COVID-19 hit the country in early March, the government has begun to hound journalists and social activists, arresting and throwing them into jail for criticizing the lack of preparedness and theft of relief materials by ruling party leaders allocated for the most vulnerable segments of society. By late March dozens of people, including journalists, academics, opposition activists, a doctor, and students, were arrested by the government for posting content on social media critical of the government.

Bangladesh Civil Society

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2020

How to deal with the coming pandemic debt crisis?

By Hung Tran

Even if inflation and interest rates remain low, the burden of servicing a quickly growing volume of debt will crowd out other important public expenditures, escalating the political fight over budgetary priorities amidst heightened social tension. It is important to have a public debate about post-pandemic fiscal strategy which is effective and equitable to deal with the aftermath of the crisis.

Coronavirus International Financial Institutions

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2020

WFP’s David Beasley warns of dire famines in Africa, Mideast if COVID-19 supply chains damage continues

By Larry Luxner

Up to 300,000 people could starve to death every day if the COVID-19 pandemic ruptures global food supply chains—even more than the roughly 275,000 people who have died of the disease worldwide so far.

Coronavirus International Markets

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2020

COVID-19 is increasing strategic uncertainty in Southeast Asia

By Adam Schwarz

Nothing that’s happened on COVID-19 yet—including China’s much commented-on ‘mask diplomacy’—is going to sway opinions or foreign policy alignments in Southeast Asia in fundamental ways. But that could change depending on what steps China and the United States take as their relationship moves—as it now seems likely to do—in a sharper, more antagonistic direction in the months and years to come.

Coronavirus East Asia

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2020

V-E Day at 75: What it brought and what’s next

By Daniel Fried

From V-E Day seventy-five years ago, the United States put a new kind of grand strategy into practice: we understood that, ultimately, our interests advanced with our democratic values, and that our prosperity depended on the prosperity of other nations. We fashioned a global system on that basis. For all its shortcomings, it’s better than the competition. The trick now is to use those core principles to meet the next seventy-five years.

Politics & Diplomacy United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2020

A war will not beat coronavirus

By Harlan Ullman

What are the strategy and plans today for dealing with the coronavirus? And what lessons has the United States drawn from other countries that appear to have been successful in stemming the disease?

Coronavirus United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 7, 2020

Nicaragua’s response to COVID-19 endangers not only its own people, but also its neighbors

By Maria Fernanda Perez Arguello and Isabel Kennon

Nicaragua’s reckless response to COVID-19 puts an already fragile Central America at risk and should worry the international community. In the fight against this global pandemic, Nicaragua and Costa Rica provide a clear example of how one country’s flawed response to the virus can drastically impact its neighboring countries

Coronavirus Democratic Transitions

New Atlanticist

May 7, 2020

After months of gridlock, Iraq gets a new government

By Atlantic Council

Iraq’s months-long quest to form a national government reached a major milestone on May 6 when a partial government under new prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was approved by lawmakers. Al-Kadhimi—who previously served as Iraq’s national intelligence chief—was nominated by Iraqi President Barham Salih on April 9 after two previous nominees failed to form a government. Although fifteen of the major cabinet posts were approved by the parliament, several others have not yet been confirmed—including foreign affairs, justice, oil, agriculture, and trade—due to failure to reach an agreement between major parties on their allocation.

Democratic Transitions Iraq

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