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

Nov 29, 2018

The G20 summit explained

By Alina Alimova and Nicholas Goggin

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a global forum comprised of twenty of the world’s largest economies, focused on addressing global economic challenges.

Economy & Business G20

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2018

Trump administration’s new Nicaragua sanctions strategically target the top

By Samantha Sultoon

The new Nicaragua sanctions executive order (EO) is strategically scoped to expand the previous US sanctions actions taken in December and June under the Global Magnitsky human rights abuse and corruption authority.

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Human Rights

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2018

Trump cancels meeting with Putin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

“I have strong doubts that the Ukraine crisis was the real reason given the timing of the president's announcement, which came only hours after news broke about his business dealings with the Kremlin during the 2016 presidential campaign," said Michael Carpenter, Atlantic Council nonresident senior fellow at the Eurasia Center.

NATO Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2018

Trump-Xi meeting at the G20: An opportunity to calm a trade war

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The worst case is if Trump insists on more tariffs. The US trade deficit is higher than ever and the reason is the dollar is stronger than it has been in a long time. That is one of the fundamentals determining trade deficits. Trump thinks it is all bad trade deals.

China G20

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2018

The West has an opportunity, yet again, to push Back against Russia

By Mamuka Tsereteli

Russia’s deep commercial interests in the Black Sea provide a powerful leverage that the United States and its allies must be willing to use.

Russia The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2018

Is another Trump-Putin meeting a good idea?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Daniel Fried, a distinguished fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and the Eurasia Center, said: “A meeting would make sense if, but only if, Trump is willing to send the right message to Putin, and the president’s track record doesn’t lead to confidence.”

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

Bremain vs Brexit

Nov 28, 2018

Trump is correct, May’s Brexit deal would make a US-UK trade agreement highly unlikely

By Álvaro Morales Salto-Weis

With his comments, Trump has brought increased attention to a significant weakness of May’s Brexit plan, namely the inability of the UK to craft its own trade policy.

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

Bremain vs Brexit

Nov 27, 2018

Brexit: The road ahead

By Bart Oosterveld and Álvaro Morales Salto-Weis

Successfully navigating these perilous waters would be an impressive feat for May. If she succeeds, she would have quelled internal opposition and boosted her mandate to negotiate the long-term EU-UK relationship after the UK officially leaves the EU on March 29, 2019.

European Union Eurozone

New Atlanticist

Nov 27, 2018

A pivotal year ahead for Afghanistan

By Omar Samad

Reaching consensus inside Afghanistan on a shared vision and inclusive plan of action, while rebuilding an international consensus that views the country as a regional platform for cooperation and connector for economic integration, are essential prerequisites for a successful political settlement.

Afghanistan Democratic Transitions

New Atlanticist

Nov 26, 2018

Beware the lure of sanctions for Russia’s latest aggression

By Brian O'Toole

While sanctions may be useful to threaten Russia to rectify this situation, any imposition of them needs to be more strategically deployed—ideally with the EU—and lifted only for more strategic gains, vice resolution of this specific incident.

Conflict Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

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