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.

How Russia Exploits Japan’s Soft Approach

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

Jun 7, 2018

How Russia Exploits Japan’s Soft Approach

By Maria Shagina

Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 tested Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ability to strike a balance between the G7 and Moscow. On one hand, Japan, as a G7 member, is expected to join the international community in its condemnation of Russia’s meddling in Ukraine. On the other, Japan values its relationship with Russia, which […]

Japan Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2018

The G7 Summit in the Age of Trump

By Joshua Kadish

As the world awaits the much-anticipated summit between US President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12, the president must first prepare for another important meeting: the G7.

France Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2018

NATO Allies Poised to Sign Off on US Plan to Deter Russian Aggression

By Brooks Tigner

BRUSSELS – The expected nod by allied defense ministers on June 7 for a new “readiness initiative” to deter aggression against NATO’s home territory will set in motion a reactive capability that the Alliance has not seen since the end of the Cold War, according to allied officials. “This is big stuff, it involves no […]

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 6, 2018

Iran: What Next?

By Peter Westmacott

There were few surprises when US President Donald J. Trump announced on May 8 that the United States was withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. The United States and the other four permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, plus Germany, and the European Union negotiated the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive […]

European Union International Organizations

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Jun 5, 2018

Slovenians First!

By Jeffrey Gedmin

Getting to the bottom of European populism In the early 1990s, Cologne hotelier Werner Peters would stuff his car full of donated clothes and toys and head south to Slovenia. The ten-hour drive would bring him and his supplies to refugees fleeing war in nearby Bosnia, a conflict engineered by strong man Slobodan Milošević, whose vision […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2018

The United States Needs its Friends

By Daniel Fried

Sometimes, even the United States needs friends. On September 10, 2001, the National Security Council staff where I then worked had in mind a whole other week from the one we got. Early on September 12, I was in Condoleezza Rice’s office as she worked to get our allies to invoke NATO’s Article 5 defense […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 4, 2018

The United States Remains a Beacon for Moldova

By Cristina Balan

Ronald Reagan was fond of comparing the United States to “a shining ‘city on a hill.’” Today, some American friends tell me that phrase strikes them as shopworn or cliché. But for many in Eastern Europe who remain under Russian domination, it still rings true. The United States’ example of security through strength, democracy, free […]

Moldova Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 4, 2018

Fighting the Wrong War? Reaching the Right Peace? Trump’s Foreign Policy Unleashed

By Frederick Kempe

So, this is how the world looks when President Trump follows his gut. This is what you get when the president has top advisers who do more to channel his energies (doing deals, righting trade wrongs, unraveling the Obama years) than to challenge his worst instincts (punish ungrateful allies, obsess on trade deficits, mistake tactics […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 1, 2018

Making China Great Again

By Marie Kasperek

US tariffs on the EU, Mexico, and Canada are a gift to Beijing As US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross arrives in Beijing on June 2 for talks on the future of the Sino-American trade relationship, he comes bearing a gift: freshly issued tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from the European Union (EU), Canada, and […]

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Jun 1, 2018

Trump-Kim Summit is Back On

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump said on June 1 that his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will proceed as initially planned in Singapore on June 12. Trump’s announcement followed his meeting at the White House with Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the vice-chairman of North Korea’s Workers’ Party’s Central Committee. Kim is the first North […]

Korea

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