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.

France and Poland: Helicopters, forks, and reconnections

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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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

Feb 14, 2020

France and Poland: Helicopters, forks, and reconnections

By Olivier-Rémy Bel

Macron's Poland visit makes political sense, but there is another pressing reason: as we enter an era of great power competition, the unity of Europe—and the unity of the transatlantic alliance—is a critical asset, which will be tested. Mending relations between East and West is part of the groundwork to bolster the political resilience of Europe.

France Poland

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2020

What Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle means

By John M. Roberts

By purging two of the most important members of his government along with a cluster of other cabinet ministers on February 13, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is seeking to set his own presidential stamp on the premiership and warning that he will brook no challenge to himself or his policies.

Politics & Diplomacy United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2020

The UK’s busy trade agenda for 2020

By Hung Tran

Post-Brexit Britain is aiming for trade agreements with the EU, the Untied States, China, and more in 2020. But negotiating such a wide range of complex trade deals in a relatively short time frame is quite a formidable challenge.

Trade and tariffs United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2020

The German center does not hold

By Michael John Williams

As Germans continue to come to grips with the political fall-out of the debacle in Thuringia and the selection of a new leader for the CDU, one thing is clear, the political stability offered by the dominance of the center-left and center-right that typified the Federal Republic of Germany is anything but certain in the months and years to come.

Elections Germany

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2020

After the 2020 Taiwan election: Strengthening defense and security cooperation

By Chang-Ching Tu

Seemingly good results at the polls do not negate the domestic and international issues that President Tsai and the DPP will have to face over the next four years, including internal battles over Taiwanese national identity, cooperation with the United States, and relations with mainland China.

China Elections

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2020

The Arctic is “not up for grabs,” Norwegian ambassador says

By Connor McPartland

“The Arctic is changing, but our objectives remain the same: to secure peace and stability,” Norwegian Ambassador to the United States Kare R. Aas said on February 6. During keynote address opening the Atlantic Council’s “Looking North: Conference on Security in the Arctic,” Aas laid out Norway’s approach to the Arctic, noting that it takes its role as an Arctic state seriously.

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Feb 11, 2020

Trump’s national security advisor touts new “streamlined” National Security Council

By David A. Wemer

Less than five months on the job, US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien reported that the National Security Council was in the final stages of a reorganization that would get it “back to a manageable size.” O’Brien, who succeeded John Bolton as the assistant to the president for national security affairs in October, explained that he has led a “right-sizing” of the National Security Council which will bring its total number of staffers from 175 to 110 by the end of the month.

China Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Feb 11, 2020

US taking right approach with China over coronavirus, former White House official says

By David A. Wemer

As world leaders attempt to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus, the United States has been correct to take “a soft touch approach to the relationship with Beijing,” former US homeland security advisor Thomas P. Bossert said at the Atlantic Council on February 11.

China Coronavirus

New Atlanticist

Feb 10, 2020

Will the Commission’s new EU proposal revive Western Balkans enlargement?

By David A. Wemer

“For a region whose politics, both domestic and foreign, have been shaped by the promise of EU membership in almost every way since the 1990s, the coming months and years will prove trying," Damir Marusic says.

Democratic Transitions European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 7, 2020

In an era of great-power competition, procurement reform not more regulation for the defense industrial base

By Tate Nurkin

What strategic gains can DoD realize from being a better customer? Given the reluctance of the US commercial sector to engage in defense work and the speedy innovation of our rivals, reform is needed.

Defense Industry Defense Policy

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