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.

Could the United States and India find a path to collaborate on China trade?

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

Dec 20, 2019

Could the United States and India find a path to collaborate on China trade?

By Mark Linscott

So why shouldn’t the Trump administration consider expanding its bilateral trade cooperation with India to initiate joint efforts on China, which could parallel existing efforts with the EU and Japan and possibly merge with them over time? Might this approach even lead to a new plurilateral negotiation in the World Trade Organization (WTO) that positions it as the most likely venue for tackling Chinese practices over the longer term?

China India

New Atlanticist

Dec 20, 2019

Top ten risks of 2020

By Robert A. Manning, Mathew Burrows

2020 will likely bear more resemblance to the 1930s, as some of the developments which did not reach a denouement in the past year cross the finish line. Several simmering conflicts, symptoms of a global system under strain from US President Donald J. Trump’s “anti-globalist” America First doctrine, could well reach breakpoints in 2020. This may include a shift from the mere corroding of multilateral institutions and US alliances toward total dysfunction.

China International Norms

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2019

Haftar closes in on Tripoli: Where is the international community?

By David A. Wemer

General Khalifa Haftar’s threat to advance his troops further into the capital of Tripoli proves that for the rebel Libyan commander, “there is only a military solution,” to the conflict between his forces and the United Nations-recognized Government of National Accord, according to Atlantic Council resident senior fellow Karim Mezran.

Conflict Libya

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2019

Russia gas pipeline sanctions legislation (PEES Act): A way ahead

By Daniel Fried

Enacting the sanctions mandated by the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act (PEES Act), for all its careful crafting, may not actually block Nord Stream II but may instead burden the US-German relationship. Rather than impose sanctions, the administration should waive them for now but prepare even stronger contingency sanctions to be implemented should the Kremlin once again use gas exports as political leverage against Ukraine, Central Europe, or the Baltics.

European Union Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2019

The domestic fallout from the UK general election

By John M. Roberts

The prime minister now has almost unfettered power, with little or no restraints from either the formal opposition parties or from within his own party. The new MPs assembling at Westminster today, many of them representing former industrial areas captured from Labour, present both a challenge and opportunity.

Elections United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2019

“Phase One” agreement: Whither the US-China trade war?

By Hung Tran

The “phase one” deal represents a truce—welcome as it is—in the trade war but nowhere near a solution to the main challenges China poses to the United States and the world trading system more generally.

China Trade and tariffs

President Trump and Prime Minister Johnson meet with each other

New Atlanticist

Dec 15, 2019

Expect an early Johnson visit to Washington

By Peter Westmacott

As the UK focuses on completing Brexit and developing new trading links with the rest of the world, Washington and London will likely continue to look for ways to stay aligned.

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Dec 13, 2019

How the USMCA impacts transatlantic trade policy

By Barbara C. Matthews

The attention today rightly sits with the breakthroughs regarding the labor and environment provisions of the USMCA. But trade policy strategists in Europe and the United States should not delay in using the USMCA’s digital trade chapter as a catalyst to define new foundations for cross-border trade in data and services which will drive economic growth and innovation for the foreseeable future.

Digital Policy European Union

New Atlanticist

Dec 13, 2019

Duque’s dilemma: Social unrest and critical governance

By Felipe Zarama Salazar

Colombia's president struggles to form the political coalition needed to govern while protesters rally in the streets frustrated by the administration.

Civil Society Colombia

New Atlanticist

Dec 13, 2019

Johnson triumphs in UK election: What’s next?

By David A. Wemer

“Much of the electorate seems to have bought the Johnson message that electing a Conservative government will mark the end of the Brexit process," Sir Peter Westmacott said. "In fact, it only signals the beginning of the real negotiations on Britain’s future relationship with the EU and the rest of the world."

Elections European Union

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