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 Russia-Georgia War: Not Frozen and Not Forgotten

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

Aug 8, 2018

The Russia-Georgia War: Not Frozen and Not Forgotten

By Alexandra Hall Hall

On the tenth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Georgia, it is essential not to forget the ongoing human, security, political, and economic impact both of that war, and of Georgia’s underlying unresolved conflicts with the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Nothing brings home the cost of war better than meeting some of its […]

Russia The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Aug 8, 2018

Turkey and Black Sea Security: Ten Years After the War in Georgia

By Dimitar Bechev

The 2008 war between Georgia and Russia was a critical test for Turkey. It highlighted Ankara’s delicate balancing act between the West and Russia, one that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is still pursuing today. The conflict presented a formidable challenge. Georgia was not just another neighbor for Turkey – the two countries had built robust […]

Russia The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2018

A Decade After War With Russia, Georgia Continues its Path Westward

By Mary Trichka and Margaret Meiman

The Russo-Georgian War lasted a brief five days, but its impact is still felt deeply in Georgia and throughout the region. Ten years later, Russia exerts ever-growing influence on Georgia, occupying one-fifth of the country’s territory – the breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia – and using this position to project its power throughout […]

Russia The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2018

Britain Will Remain A Global Power After Brexit, UK Defense Minister Says

By David Wemer

“Brexit is Britain’s moment to look up, be more ambitious, and redefine our place in the world,” United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence, Gavin Williamson, said on August 7. Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington, Williamson sought to assure those “worrying about Brexit and what role Britain will play in the world,” that […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2018

Enlarge NATO to Ensure Peace in Europe

By Damon Wilson and David J. Kramer

Exactly ten years ago, Russian forces attacked Georgia, bringing to a violent end a nearly two-decade long advance of a Europe whole and free. In the wake of NATO’s failure to agree on how to advance the membership aspirations of Georgia and Ukraine at its Bucharest Summit months earlier, Moscow acted to block those prospects […]

Russia The Balkans

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2018

Ankara and Washington Reach a Boiling Point over American Pastor Imprisonment

By David Wemer

This piece is part of a two part series on current US-Turkey relations. See the first piece here. Relations between Turkey and the United States may have hit a new low after the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned two Turkish government officials in response to the imprisonment of an American pastor in Turkey on […]

Turkey

New Atlanticist

Aug 7, 2018

US-Turkey relations: From alliance to crisis

By Defne Arslan, Pinar Dost, and Grady Wilson

The historically strong US-Turkey relationship has been tested in recent years by a seemingly never-ending series of disagreements and crises. After each development, commentators claim again and again that US-Turkey relations have never been so bad.

Turkey

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2018

Non-Tariff Barriers: Can the EU and the United States Make Progress on Trade?

By Barbara C. Matthews and Earl Anthony Wayne

On July 25, the European Union and the United States took an important step in de-escalating the threat of a trade war by agreeing to not only begin walking back US tariffs on European steel and aluminum and Europe’s retaliatory measures, but also by starting to discuss an ambitious forward-looking agenda for reducing trade barriers […]

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2018

First Wave of Resumed Iran Sanctions Targets Automobiles, Currency, and Gold

By Holly Dagres

As part of the United States’ withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the US Treasury Department will restore sanctions on a number of key Iranian sectors and activities on August 6. Here’s what you need to know about this set of sanctions:

Iran

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2018

20 Years After the Embassy Bombings: The Long War in Africa

By J. Peter Pham

It has been twenty years since that morning of August 7, 1998, when suicide bombers detonated, almost simultaneously, trucks laden with explosives outside the United States embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The attacks, the first claimed by al-Qaeda against US targets, left 224 people dead, including a dozen Americans, and around […]

East Africa

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