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.

Brexit status report: breaking up is never easy

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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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 5, 2018

Brexit status report: breaking up is never easy

By David A. Wemer

Many of these issues boil down to a central question: how much power is the United Kingdom ready to cede to Brussels in return for access to the EU’s market?

European Union Eurozone

New Atlanticist

Oct 5, 2018

An inflection point in the Maldives?

By Bharath Gopalaswamy and Trevor Cloen

Despite all odds, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) achieved a stunning electoral victory on September 23 that provides the Indian Ocean nation with an opportunity to reverse the erosion of rights and freedoms that occurred during Yameen’s tenure.

China Democratic Transitions

New Atlanticist

Oct 4, 2018

Pence takes aim at China

By David A. Wemer

"It is no longer unclear what the Trump administration’s trade strategy is. It has become clear that the administration views tariffs as the solution to everything," said Marie Kasperek, associate director in the Atlantic Council’s Global Business and Economic Program.

China

New Atlanticist

Oct 4, 2018

Midterms seen as potential target of cyberattacks

By David A. Wemer

“Our goal at the heart of it is to ensure that every American has assurance that their vote is counted and that their vote is counted correctly,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at The Atlantic Council's Global Forum on Strategic Communications and Digital Disinformation.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Oct 4, 2018

Western nations go on the offensive against Russian cyberattacks

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Western governments on October 4 unleashed a torrent of accusations against Russia saying its intelligence agency was responsible for cyberattacks on inquiries into Olympic doping, a former spy’s poisoning, and the downing of a commercial aircraft in 2014.

Cybersecurity Disinformation

New Atlanticist

Oct 3, 2018

‘The fundamental fix is who we are’

By David A. Wemer

“Russians really aren’t the heart of our problem,” former CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said at a conference hosted by the Atlantic Council in Washington on October 3.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Oct 3, 2018

So much for US-Iran amity

By Ashish Kumar Sen

“Theater is part of diplomacy... In this case, we have a largely symbolic US action regarding a mainly obsolete treaty in response to another largely symbolic Iranian action regarding a generally ineffectual court,” said William F. Wechsler, interim director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.“

Iran Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Oct 3, 2018

South Sudan’s first vice president optimistic about peace, but no one is buying It

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The almost 400,000 people killed over the past five years “is a higher mortality rate vis-à-vis population than the civil war in Syria,” said J. Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center.

Conflict Crisis Management

New Atlanticist

Oct 3, 2018

Here’s how 3D printers could become a global nonproliferation nightmare

By Spandana Singh

Widespread 3D printing could enable nations that are the target of international sanctions to sidestep regulations and print restricted items. This would undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of this vital foreign policy instrument.

Non-Traditional Threats Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Oct 3, 2018

Macedonia vote is not the end of the road

By Sarah Bedenbaugh, Damon Wilson, and Graham Brookie

Voter turnout on September 30 was disappointing by some measures, but the vote and the result itself was cause for great optimism as citizens made clear their preference for a European future.

Disinformation Elections

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