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.

It’s What Wasn’t Said at the Trump-Putin Press Conference That Really Matters

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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

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

Jul 18, 2018

It’s What Wasn’t Said at the Trump-Putin Press Conference That Really Matters

By Agnia Grigas

Donald J. Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16 resulted in some very poor optics for the US president. While Trump faced tough questions from American journalists, the Russian president appeared on equal footing with his US counterpart. It is important, however, to not get caught up in the theatrics of the […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 18, 2018

NATO is Stronger With Montenegro

By Damon Wilson

In his interview with US President Donald J. Trump, Tucker Carlson of Fox News asked why the United States should come to the defense of Montenegro, a tiny country in the Western Balkans with a population the size of Washington, D.C., that is a NATO ally. It’s a perfectly reasonable question, with a good answer. […]

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 18, 2018

NATO Summit a Success, For Now

By Brooks Tigner

Budgetary bombast aside, the agenda in Brussels was a political success, but the proof will be in the subsequent grunt work to produce results BRUSSELS – Despite all the contradictory signals, divergent headlines, and alarmist bombast over defense spending during NATO’s July 11-12 summit in Brussels—and there was plenty of that coming from the US […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 17, 2018

Reflecting on Mandela’s centenary

By J. Peter Pham

Mandela’s life underscored, however, that it is not enough to be a visionary: to make dreams a reality requires pragmatism.

South Africa

New Atlanticist

Jul 17, 2018

The Atlantic Council’s Inaugural UK Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge

By Georgia Crossland, Amy Ertan, Lydia Garms, and Angela Heeler

How do you respond to a cyberattack on a European airport, manipulation of UK aviation financial markets, and two emerging botnets? Team CDT had the winning response. Our approach included confirming attribution for the attacks, collating intelligence research, employing law enforcement in digital control towers, and utilizing an apolitical spokesperson from the National Cyber Security […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 16, 2018

A Bad Summit

By Daniel Fried

First, a caveat: the public knows little of what happened in the one-on-one meeting (happily, there was reportedly an American interpreter present) or the larger plenary meeting. Second, some bad things that did not happen, at least not as far as we know: US President Donald J. Trump did not offer to recognize Crimea as […]

Russia United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jul 16, 2018

Recommendations from the July 16 Inter-Parliamentary Meeting at the Atlantic Council

By The Atlantic Council

Read the Recommendations (PDF) Foreign interference in elections is an attack on citizens’ fundamental right to freely select their representatives and to determine the path forward for their countries. Democracies in the United States (US), Europe and elsewhere have experienced foreign interference in their elections through the spread of fake information, the amplification of divisive […]

Congressional Relations

Jul 16, 2018

Senators Rubio and Warner Push Back on Trump’s Press Conference with Putin

By David Wemer

US Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) described as “outrageous” US President Donald J. Trump’s July 16 press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while his Republican colleague, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), maintained that “what the president said today was not accurate.” The two senators, who spoke at an Atlantic Council event on the Kremlin’s interference in […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 16, 2018

Trump Picks Putin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump on July 16 appeared to believe Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials over the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 elections, saying he saw “no reason why” Moscow would have acted in that way. Speaking at a joint press conference following his first summit with Putin in […]

Russia United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jul 15, 2018

Trump-Putin Summit: Expect the Unexpected

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Just in the past few months, US President Donald J. Trump has blown up the G7 summit in Canada, berated the United States’ NATO allies, criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May on her handling of Brexit, described Germany as a “captive” of Russia, characterized the European Union as a “foe,” and directed the Pentagon to […]

Russia Ukraine

Share

Issue briefs and reports