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 United States must end its contradictory Pakistan policy

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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New Atlanticist

Jan 29, 2020

The United States must end its contradictory Pakistan policy

By Harris Samad

Washington has a long history of tacitly supporting the Pakistan Army’s unrivaled political power while publicly espousing the ideals of democracy and political pluralism. Such doublespeak only enables corrupt and unaccountable segments of the political and security establishments in Pakistan. It also impedes the United States from achieving its regional goals of democracy promotion and counterterrorism.

Democratic Transitions Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Jan 28, 2020

The 5×5—The 2010s: A cyber decade in review

By Simon Handler

The past ten years have, among other things, witnessed the most-costly cyberattack on record, the discovery of a computer worm capable of wreaking physical destruction, and USCYBERCOM’s elevation to unified combatant command status. As we turn the page to 2020, we’re looking back to recap the most significant, overblown, and emergent cyber incidents of the decade.

Cybersecurity

New Atlanticist

Jan 28, 2020

Trump’s new Middle East peace deal: A real path or dead on arrival?

By Daniel J. Samet

"The sad irony is that the peace process desperately needs new ideas, even if the ideas revealed today and the means by which they were developed and announced were not ideal," William Wechsler says. "And given the longstanding positions taken by the current Israeli and Palestinian leaders, the only credible source for those new ideas is the United States."

Israel Middle East

New Atlanticist

Jan 27, 2020

The potential global impact of the coronavirus outbreak

By David A. Wemer

Beijing “must act" to contain the coronavirus outbreak, Miyeon Oh says, "especially in light of the indirect but potentially massive economic, social, and political impacts of the coronavirus in the region and around the world.” There is growing concern in Beijing as well, Robert A. Manning added, “that if this pandemic is only in its early stages, it could become the straw that broke the camel’s back for an already anemic economy.”

China Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Jan 27, 2020

Warring for the soul of the internet: Ten years on

By Trey Herr, Justin Sherman

The new reality is one where democracies must play a more assertive role to protect an open, free, fair, and secure internet, utilizing a strategy that recognizes the changes the internet has undergone, the pernicious influence of authoritarian states, and the role companies have in both protecting and fragmenting it. The internet can’t be brought back in time but there is hope, perhaps, that its original core values can be preserved in a new form through determined effort by its users, some companies, and the democratic states where the open web was born.

Cybersecurity Internet

New Atlanticist

Jan 27, 2020

How the transatlantic trade agenda can get its groove back in 2020

By Barbara C. Matthews

Transatlantic policymakers should not waste this opportunity to redefine the transatlantic relationship. Leaders looking for traction should learn from the recent past and chart a different trajectory this year. In particular, they should acknowledge that different interests exist, focus on economic areas where interests align well, and pragmatically maximize efforts to align commitments.

European Union Trade and tariffs

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2020

A year in, the United States still stands behind Venezuela’s interim government

By David A. Wemer

As the interim government of Venezuela continues to fight for freedom and democracy against the regime of Nicolás Maduro, the United States is “unwavering in [its] commitment” to helping Interim President Juan Guaidó and the National Assembly, US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Mark Green said on January 23.

Democratic Transitions Human Rights

New Atlanticist

Jan 22, 2020

Europe to take center stage in global trade talks

By Hung Tran

With the “phase one” trade deal behind them, the United States and China will now probably shift attention to sorting out their economic and trade relationships with Europe. Caught in the middle of the US-China trade war and geopolitical competition, the European Union (EU) has tried to steer an independent course, balancing security and geopolitical concerns with economic and business needs. Doing so, however, has exposed many differences vis-a-vis the United States as well as China.

China European Union

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2020

Trump hails “time for optimism” on climate change, but US leadership still missing

By David A. Wemer

While “Trump is right [that] this is a time for both optimism and action,” John E. Morton, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, said, Trump “is wrong to suggest that the future lies in fossil fuels.” By emphasizing fossil fuel production, Livingston said, “Trump missed a key opportunity to sell the story of a United States that can still—with the right policies—commercialize zero-carbon technologies as well as any other country in the world.”

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy Transitions

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2020

The Pakistani courts strike back

By Fatima Salman

The historic sentencing in December of former dictator and president Pervez Musharraf was a blow to the military’s image and directly questions its unequivocal authority over shaping Pakistan’s political life—even if it is only symbolic. In a rare streak of defiance, the country’s courts are pushing back against a traditionally powerful and popular establishment hoping to inch the country from a seemingly illiberal to a more liberal democracy.

Democratic Transitions Pakistan

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