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 the US learned from the fall of the Wall

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.

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What the US learned from the fall of the Wall

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
What the US learned from the fall of the Wall

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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Content

New Atlanticist

Nov 6, 2019

What the US learned from the fall of the Wall

By Jasper Gilardi

After forty years of the Iron Curtain and a divided Germany, it was clear that the US president was in no hurry to dance atop the wall and claim victory if it came at the cost of the US vision for a Europe whole and free.

Germany United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Nov 5, 2019

Trump abandons US climate leadership with pact withdrawal

By David A. Wemer

While a disappointment, the United States’ notification of intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement was already largely ‘priced in’ to political discourse and expectations. What matters most now is continued bold leadership—and hard, prosaic work—by the entities that have at least as much control over the future US emissions trajectory as the federal government.

Climate Change & Climate Action United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Nov 4, 2019

Sanctions are effective—if used correctly

By Brian O’Toole

Ilhan Omar is spot on that sanctions are not a one-size fits all solution to the United States’ problems. But her critique of sanctions as a failed tool in the foreign policy playbook misses the mark.

Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist

Nov 1, 2019

Argentina’s election: The international implications of a Fernández government

By Frederico Fróes

Supporters of President Mauricio Macri hope that the new Fernández government will follow a moderate and pragmatic agenda, yet there is no doubt that it will be a departure from the current course, with regional and international repercussions

Elections International Financial Institutions

New Atlanticist

Nov 1, 2019

Iraq’s government cannot reform itself

By Samir Sumaidaie

The Iraqi government, as it is constituted now and despite all past and present promises and claims to the contrary, does not have the political will or the capacity to deliver good governance. That is why the first demand of the protesters is for the government to step aside and be replaced—hopefully peacefully by constitutional steps—by an emergency administration.

Democratic Transitions Iraq

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2019

Transforming the international order: US leadership or bust

By Jasper Gilardi

While many nations throughout the globe have seen new levels of peace and prosperity under the rules-based order that the United States and its allies built in the wake of the Second World War, “not everybody accepts those principles and values that have been the foundation of that system,” according to former US National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley.

China International Financial Institutions

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2019

Building support for US global engagement

By Stephen B. Heintz

It is in our own best interest—and the interest of a peaceful and prosperous future for the world—that our diplomacy and the example of our democracy once again become our greatest strengths. That is the message we need to convey to the American people.

Politics & Diplomacy United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2019

By blocking enlargement decision, Macron undercuts France’s Balkan goals

By Loic Tregoures

By strongly supporting the government of North Macedonia from the start and granting it the opening of negotiations, it would have been possible to create a virtuous circle in the region and kill four birds with one stone. President Macron chose to do exactly the opposite.

European Union France

New Atlanticist

Oct 29, 2019

A most peculiar general election

By John M. Roberts

Perhaps the most important question of all, as current polling suggests, is whether voter support for Brexit or determination to see the UK remaining within the European Union proves more important than traditional party allegiance.

Elections European Union

Conflict, Risk, and Tech

Oct 28, 2019

The zero-day war? How cyber is reshaping the future of the most combustible conflicts

By Simon Handler

Conventional wisdom would suggest that scaled-up capabilities, growing competition, and the proliferation of malware across cyberspace presents a legitimate risk of escalation in state conflict, transcending the cyber domain toward the kinetic. However, recent history has shown that states have more often availed themselves of their offensive cyber arsenals to achieve surprisingly de-escalatory effects.

Cybersecurity Iran
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