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.

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

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

New Atlanticist

Oct 28, 2019

Five takeaways from the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

By William F. Wechsler

This is a serious but not fatal blow to the Islamic State, and the generational conflict against Salafi jihadist organizations is far from over. The Islamic State's center of gravity will increasingly be its narrative pull rather than its claim to represent a governing caliphate.

Conflict Extremism

New Atlanticist

Oct 25, 2019

Transport infrastructure in southern Mexico and Guatemala: A step toward development

By María Fernanda Pérez Arguello & Pablo Reynoso Brito

Transport infrastructure development in Southern Mexico and Guatemala can boost local economic development and reduce migration by creating local economic opportunities for citizens.

Central America Mexico

New Atlanticist

Oct 24, 2019

The 10 percent margin: Understanding Bolivia’s contested presidential election

By Sarah Hennessey

With tensions running high on the streets of Bolivia and the inside the Palacio Quemado, the next few days will be critical for the democratic institutions of Bolivia.

Democratic Transitions Elections

New Atlanticist

Oct 23, 2019

Combating everyday falsehoods

By David A. Wemer

From false headlines about veteran benefit cuts to broad campaigns discrediting climate science, the spread of fake or misleading information online has disrupted democratic societies around the world.

Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Oct 23, 2019

EDA soon to launch new financing mechanism for boosting multination defense projects

By Brooks Tigner

Despite its bland name the CFM will operate on a radical premise, one that has never been tried before at national or EU level (or among NATO allies for that matter), namely: to function as a platform where Europe’s defense ministries can systematically borrow either from the EU’s official bank or lend their own defense monies to each another for multinational capability efforts.

Defense Policy European Union

New Atlanticist

Oct 23, 2019

Can Beijing export its manipulation of information?

By David A. Wemer

While censorship and propaganda have long been features of Chinese domestic politics, Beijing is ramping up its information operations abroad.

China Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Oct 23, 2019

Tsars and pharaohs: Leadership in the next era of great power competition

By Will O'Brien

The first Russia-Africa Summit will be cohosted by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi; a strategic choice by Putin that should concern advocates for democratic values around the world. Putin’s gesture to Sisi is his attempt to reinstate this alignment and show support for Sisi’s style of leadership.

Democratic Transitions Middle East

New Atlanticist

Oct 23, 2019

October 23, 1983: Then and now

By Frederic C. Hof

The needless deaths of 241 Americans in October 1983 and the ill-considered expectation of a “cake walk” in Iraq nearly twenty years later would combine, in the minds of many Americans, to create the belief that the United States can do nothing right in the Middle East; that it is a place of “sand and death” best left to its inhabitants and their neighbors.

Iran Middle East

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