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.

The foreign worker freeze will not solve high US unemployment

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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

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

Jul 30, 2020

The foreign worker freeze will not solve high US unemployment

By Amy Jeon

The administration’s restrictive approach to immigration cannot be attributed to the pandemic economy alone, as evidenced by sweeping measures even before COVID-19, including historically low refugee admission numbers and increased penalties for asylum seekers. The freeze will also likely do more harm than good to the US economy.

Coronavirus Inclusive Growth

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2020

Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections will shape its political future—likely for the worse

By Phillip Baumgart

With complications from the coronavirus pandemic, during which the Sri Lankan election commission has struggled to ensure that voting will be free, fair, and safe for all, the twice-delayed election may favor President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s party, allowing it to strike down a significant constitutional amendment and move Sri Lanka further into China’s orbit of influence.

Coronavirus Elections

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

Experts react: US announces plans for troop withdrawal from Germany

By David A. Wemer

“There may be a strategic case for the withdrawal of almost 12,000 US troops from Germany, but Secretary of Defense Esper’s announcement today does not make it," Daniel Fried says.

Defense Policy Germany

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

What hurts NATO the most is not the troop reductions. It’s the divisive approach to Europe.

By Olivier-Rémy Bel

At the end of the day, the strength of the Alliance lies less in the number of troops deployed than in the trust among allies. Rebuilding that trust should be the main task of those who care about transatlantic relations—and the first step might be restoring the predictability of American foreign policy.

Defense Policy Germany

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

Western Balkans leaders meet to drive coronavirus recovery and deepen regional economic cooperation

By David A. Wemer

Leaders from the Western Balkans Six—Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia—participated in the Western Balkans Partnership Summit on July 29 to take steps to deepen regional economic cooperation and stimulate growth amid the widespread economic downturn caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Inclusive Growth Macroeconomics

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2020

The 5×5—Fighting COVID-19 with surveillance: Perspectives from across the globe

By Simon Handler and Lily Liu

As more countries rely on digital tools to contain the spread of COVID-19, how will enhanced surveillance challenge privacy norms in the future? According to the World Health Organization, public health surveillance is critical to containing the pandemic. However, can enhanced surveillance during a public health crisis set precedents for digital surveillance in the future?

Africa Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jul 28, 2020

Singapore’s prime minister has a message for the US: Don’t choose China confrontation or Asia withdrawal

By David A. Wemer

Lee Hsien Loong, the prime minister of Singapore, worries that Washington’s increasingly tense relationship with Beijing and domestic pressures to reduce its commitments abroad will force US policymakers to choose either a path of “colliding with China” or “deciding that you have no stake in the region and leave us to our own defenses.”

China Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jul 28, 2020

As central banks implement coronavirus rescue plans, has moral hazard been forgotten?

By Hung Tran

With financial markets beginning to astoundingly recover, despite continued economic pain and an uncertain pandemic picture, the fear of moral hazard seems to have been forgotten.

Coronavirus Financial Regulation

New Atlanticist

Jul 27, 2020

What happened to transatlantic cooperation on WTO reform?

By Marie Kasperek

Contrary to the transatlantic aspirations on WTO reform in the summer of 2018, there is now less cooperation, more setbacks, and a bleak outlook for at least the rest of 2020.

European Union Eurozone

New Atlanticist

Jul 27, 2020

Perfect competition: Getting a US-EU trade deal was never going to be easy

By Julia Friedlander

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer recently criticized the EU for negotiating seventy-seven individual trade agreements globally. What was more striking in this comment was not the criticism of Brussels, but what that number revealed about the transatlantic dilemma. Europe can take home ancillary prizes but the golden goose—an agreement with the United States—remains out of reach.

European Union Eurozone

Share

Issue briefs and reports