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 US can do more to compensate for Pakistan’s sacrifices during the War on Terror: The plight of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui

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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New Atlanticist

May 6, 2020

The US can do more to compensate for Pakistan’s sacrifices during the War on Terror: The plight of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui

By Dawood Ghazanavi

Proper attention to Dr. Aafia Siddiqui's case can be a step in the right direction in recovering the relationship Pakistan's public has with its own government and the United States.

Pakistan Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

May 6, 2020

Coronavirus will not bring Iran sanctions relief

By Kirsten Fontenrose

The US administration is proving unmoved by arguments that the severity of the coronavirus in Iran merits a lifting of sanctions. This is for two reasons. Washington believes that the regime in Tehran is leveraging the virus for its own power consolidation, and there is no US political disincentive, domestically or internationally, for keeping sanctions pressure on.

Conflict Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

May 5, 2020

Beating coronavirus requires curbing United States’ political virus

By John Raidt

Without superb teamwork and cooperation across society, including our elected leadership, the country can’t possibly meet national challenges.

Coronavirus Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

May 5, 2020

Democratic solidarity and the road ahead

By Ana Palacio and Daniel Fried

The United States needs to lead in devising both immediate and systemic responses to the coronavirus challenge, but not alone. Leadership means neither diktat nor incantation of old formulas. It means using American convening power to adapt tested principles to new challenges, crystalizing friends and allies—transatlantic, transpacific and not forgetting hemispheric—around a common agenda.

Coronavirus G20

New Atlanticist

May 5, 2020

Can we compare the COVID-19 and 2008 crises?

By Marc-Olivier Strauss-Kahn

There are more differences than similarities in comparing both crises, and others may still emerge as time goes. History doesn’t repeat itself; it stutters. And, of course, what will matter afterwards is to really draw the appropriate lessons to revisit our development models and better prevent and/or limit future crises.

International Financial Institutions International Markets

New Atlanticist

May 4, 2020

Critical ruling for European Central Bank to turn spotlight back to policymakers

By Bart Oosterveld

So far, the ECB has committed to asset purchases roughly in accordance with each member state’s contribution to the European economy. This has led to market speculation that suggests the German court will add that as a restriction on the Bundesbank’s participation, though there is no precedent for such a restriction in prior rulings.

Coronavirus European Union

New Atlanticist

May 4, 2020

COVID-19 pandemic puts Central Asia’s resilience to the test

By Ariel Cohen

The repercussions of the global economic downturn will likely be amplified in Central Asia, where healthcare resources are limited, supply chains are vulnerable, and government revenues are dependent on commodity prices.

Central Asia Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

May 4, 2020

Fiscal responses to the coronavirus pandemic: Next steps

By Hung Tran

Overall, the differences in magnitudes and compositions of fiscal programs by countries around the world imply uneven and staggered recoveries, making them more protracted. In designing the next wave of fiscal packages, it is important to learn from recent experiences so as to better balance their various elements to be more effective.

Coronavirus Inclusive Growth

New Atlanticist

May 1, 2020

How to make a bad situation much worse: Run from Afghanistan because of the virus

By James B Cunningham, Hugo Llorens, Richard Olson, Ronald E. Neumann, and Earl Anthony Wayne

Recent news reports suggest that US President Donald J. Trump is seriously considering withdrawing US troops from Afghanistan because of concerns relating to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). There are arguments for the United States to stay and to go, but this is a bad one on every count. Our troops will be exposed to COVID-19 wherever they are. In Afghanistan, our military presence is key to the strategy the Trump administration has been laboring to implement to foment peace.

Afghanistan Conflict

New Atlanticist

May 1, 2020

Economic recovery from coronavirus: Lessons from 1918-1923

By Harlan Ullman

The United States recovered in a short time from a world war, two recessions in quick succession, a pandemic, and a period of extreme domestic unrest. As the famous John Maynard Keynes wrote, technology was central to ending depressions. And that was the case in the early 1920s, in large part driven by Henry Ford and electrification.

Coronavirus Economy & Business

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