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.

US Senators Back NATO as Trump Leaves Allies On Edge

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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New Atlanticist

Jul 12, 2018

US Senators Back NATO as Trump Leaves Allies On Edge

By Ashish Kumar Sen

In Brussels, where US President Donald J. Trump has castigated allies and cast doubt about the US commitment to NATO, two US senators—one a Republican and the other a Democrat—speaking at the NATO Engages event co-hosted by the Atlantic Council on July 12 expressed their full-throated support for the Alliance. “Congress has your backs,” said […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 12, 2018

Iceland’s NATO-Skeptic Leader Says Security is About More Than Just the Military

By David Wemer

NATO and the international community must focus on more than just military strength when discussing security, Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said in Brussels on July 12 at the NATO Engages event co-hosted by the Atlantic Council. “I personally think this is the view of the future,” she said. “I think we need to look […]

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

The Trump-Merkel Showdown

By Mark Fischer and Mark Simakovsky

Managing a growing rift within NATO US President Donald J. Trump traveled to Europe this week with his rhetorical guns loaded, taking aim at NATO allies for failing to adequately pay for their own defense. The primary target of Trump’s ire is German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Despite positive trajectories in both German and NATO allies’ […]

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

NATO’s Jamie Shea Signs Off On a Positive Note… And With Some Advice

By Ashish Kumar Sen

At a time where there are so many doubts about NATO at the political level, the paradox is that the Alliance on July 11 came out with a communique—agreed to by all member states—that is “the most substantive… the most complete, the most consensual,” notes Jamie Shea, NATO’s outgoing deputy assistant secretary general for emerging […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

NATO Engages: Shoring Up the Alliance

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The opening day of NATO Engages: The Brussels Summit Dialogue was marked by passionate endorsements of the transatlantic military alliance that has been credited with giving the West its longest period of peace without a major power conflict in centuries. It also produced an attempt by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to ease the Alliance’s […]

Cybersecurity European Union

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

Macedonian Prime Minister Celebrates NATO Invitation

By David Wemer

Zoran Zaev, the prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), celebrated his country’s potential NATO membership in Brussels on July 11 just minutes after it was announced that the bloc would invite FYROM to begin accession talks.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

NATO Ministers Preach Unity, But Divisions Persist

By David Wemer

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz, and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen stressed the importance of unity in the Alliance during a panel discussion in Brussels on July 11. Although each of the ministers implored the Alliance to find common ground on the challenges facing the bloc, divergent views […]

Germany NATO

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

NATO’s Stoltenberg Credits Trump as Allies Increase Defense Spending

By David Wemer

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on July 11 credited US President Donald J. Trump for pushing a “clear message” that allies need to invest more in their national defense, and argued that real increases in spending have been a direct result of this push. Stoltenberg spoke at NATO Engages: The Brussels Summit Dialogue, the official […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 11, 2018

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Stands Up for NATO

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on July 11 delivered a resounding defense of NATO—the transatlantic military alliance that today grapples with external as well as internal challenges—and sought to address questions of burden sharing noting that it is the quality of the output rather than the quantity of the input that actually matters. “A lot […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jul 10, 2018

The United States Should ‘Recommit to NATO’

By Atlantic Council

Interview with Daniel Fried, a distinguished senior fellow at the Atlantic Council On the eve of the NATO Summit in Brussels on July 11 and 12, Daniel Fried, a distinguished senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Future Europe Initiative and Eurasia Center, laid out what he wants from the meeting: “I want to see [the […]

NATO Security & Defense

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