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’s at stake in Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Germany

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

Jun 25, 2020

What’s at stake in Trump’s plans to withdraw troops from Germany

By Katherine Golden

On June 15, US President Donald J. Trump confirmed press reports that he is planning to pull 9,500 US troops out of Germany, leaving 25,000 in the country. Here’s how the Atlantic Council’s experts are assessing the decision and its significance.

Defense Policy Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 25, 2020

Can Pakistan handle the double crisis of COVID-19 and a struggling economy?

By South Asia Center

While critics argue that the 2020-2021 budget released by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration will result in a greater deficit and allocates excessive funding to the defense sector, supporters have defended the budget and praised its introduction of the rationalization of custom duties as well as the advance ruling system, which would ease trade and minimize costs associated with cross border trade—a domain that Pakistan has historically struggled to contend in.

Economy & Business Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Jun 24, 2020

German defense minister responds to US plans for a troop drawdown

By Larry Luxner

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer has warned that the US President Donald J. Trump administration's planned withdrawal of 9,500 American troops from her country—a move announced by the US president earlier this month—must not send Russia the signal “that the US is less interested in Europe.”

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

Jun 24, 2020

Top European digital official: US and EU must make better use of their shared values and history

By Larry Luxner

Europe’s powerful competition and digital chief Margrethe Vestager is calling for better relations between the United States and the European Union, at a time when economic chaos triggered by the worsening coronavirus pandemic threatens recovery on both sides of the Atlantic.

Digital Policy Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Jun 23, 2020

US government broadcasters have long advanced the cause of freedom. Now they’re under threat.

By Josh Lipsky, Daniel Fried

One of the most effective tools for explaining America and its best values to the world may vanish. But you don’t advance freedom by dismantling free institutions or a free press. You advance it by empowering them.

Europe & Eurasia Media

New Atlanticist

Jun 23, 2020

Putin and the ‘real lessons’ of World War II

By Mark N. Katz

Putin pins the blame for Moscow’s most notorious foreign-policy action—signing a 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact—on the West and distorts the historical record. Even if some of Putin’s criticisms of Western behavior are justified, his failure to acknowledge the USSR’s World War II-era misbehavior makes it impossible to trust him.

Disinformation Russia

The 5×5

Jun 22, 2020

The 5×5—Baseball and cybersecurity: Stealing insights from America’s pastime

By Simon Handler

Whether you have played, watched, hated, or never heard of baseball, lessons from the sport can be applied to many things in life—including cybersecurity. Cyber Statecraft Initiative experts go 5×5 to draw parallels between America’s pastime and today’s cybersecurity issues.

Cybersecurity Technology & Innovation

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2020

Facing twin crises of COVID-19 and climate change, refugees will suffer the most

By Larry Luxner

Since its emergence barely half a year ago, COVID-19 has infected more than 8.5 million people globally, and has killed at least 452,000. The pandemic—along with climate change—leaves the planet facing “perhaps its worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.”

Climate Change & Climate Action Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2020

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta says his country needs ‘fiscal space’ amid the COVID-19 crisis

By Larry Luxner

“Coronavirus is mainly a health issue, and our key focus is ensuring that we keep our people safe,” Kenyatta said. “But this is also an economic crisis because it has resulted in some key sectors hugely affected by lockdowns. We were forced to close our airspace, which affected tourism, a very critical part of our economy.”

Africa Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2020

The Trump administration’s plan to upend the WTO

By Mark Linscott

Now the WTO may be confronting a true existential threat brought on by the Trump administration, even at a moment when COVID-19 has severely limited its activities and its “leader,” Director General Roberto Azevedo, announced his departure a year before the end of his term. This new threat comes in the form of an announcement by the US Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Robert Lighthizer that the administration plans to “reset” its tariffs, which have been bound at an average rate of roughly 3.4 percent as the result of decades of give-and-take trade negotiations.

International Organizations Trade and tariffs

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