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.

What happened to transatlantic cooperation on WTO reform?

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.

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 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

New Atlanticist

Jul 27, 2020

Two years after Rose Garden deal, Europe prefers to wait it out

By Bart Oosterveld

Two years after the Juncker-Trump summit, a realistic scenario for transatlantic trade discussions in the next few years is progress on minor aspects. Think of lullaby topics like closer alignment of insurance regulation. With such political uncertainty, policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic will hope for agreements that the press tunes out quickly and make sure that farmers do not block the access roads to Paris.

European Union Eurozone

New Atlanticist

Jul 27, 2020

Europe and the US should remember their Rose Garden intellectual property pledge

By Marc L. Busch

While progress on protecting intellectual property since the summit has been disappointing, it still provides a compelling opportunity for the United States and Europe to join forces to protect this key economic freedom.

European Union Eurozone

New Atlanticist

Jul 27, 2020

The curious case of the US Treasury and Gaz Group

By Brian O’Toole

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) very quietly issued two extensions of general licenses on July 22 related to Vladimir Putin-tied oligarch Oleg Deripaska’s Gaz Group that, while apparently going unnoticed, constitute a significant change in the sanctions on Gaz, which can now seemingly operate according to something like business as usual.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 24, 2020

Will NATO still be relevant in the future?

By Larry Luxner

“Having allies and institutions like NATO gives us an extraordinary advantage over Russia, China, and other adversaries,” Alexander Vershbow said

China NATO

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2020

EU deal is a win-win for all sides

By Antonio de Lecea

The €1.8 trillion agreement was the subject of intense debate over several days, but in the end European leaders reached a compromise that is a win-win for all sides and will strengthen the EU’s economy and political stability during turbulent times.

Coronavirus European Union

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2020

As Arctic warms up, US Air Force launches Department’s first strategy for confronting threats

By Larry Luxner

Driven by rising temperatures and melting ice, the vast Arctic region is changing—and so are the military priorities of the United States and its two biggest adversaries: Russia and China.

China Defense Policy

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2020

Peering through the fog: The liberal international order in the real world

By Daniel Fried

The liberal order gave the world generations of general great power peace and unprecedented prosperity. Stack that against the first half of the twentieth century.

International Norms International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2020

As candidates to be the next WTO leader call for reform, destructive subsidy practices must loom large

By Mark Linscott

The director general race likely must run its course before a group of WTO Members can press ahead to launch a new negotiation on subsidies. But the WTO cannot afford to be on the sidelines for long.

International Organizations Trade and tariffs

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