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.

Uncertainty and a Need for Leadership After Zimbabwe’s Election

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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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.

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Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2018

Uncertainty and a Need for Leadership After Zimbabwe’s Election

By David Wemer

After days of uncertainty, protests, and violence following Zimbabwe’s July 30 presidential and parliamentary elections, “everyone has got to take deep breath,” Dr. J Peter Pham, the Atlantic Council’s Vice President for Research and Regional Initiatives and the Director of the Council’s Africa Center said. In the early hours of August 3, the Zimbabwe Electoral […]

South & Central Africa

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2018

South Sudan must end the arbitrary detention of Peter Biar Ajak

By Frederick Kempe, Damon Wilson, and Daniel Bennett

We urge the government of South Sudan to end the arbitrary detention of Peter Biar Ajak, an alumnus of the Atlantic Council Millennium Fellowship, who was arrested in Juba July 28, 2018.

East Africa

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2018

The Atlantic council stands with Latvia—and always will

By Damon Wilson

We are surprised and disappointed to see that record ignored. Recent reports have suggested that the Atlantic Council is allowing itself to be influenced by those who do not have the best interests of Latvia at heart. Such claims are misplaced and impugn the good work of our team.

Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2018

Back to the Future Off Hormuz

By Owen Daniels

“If they impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz.” After a long week of Iran headlines – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laying out the administration’s Iran strategy, Presidents Trump and Rouhani trading implicit threats of war, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force […]

Iran Saudi Arabia

New Atlanticist

Aug 1, 2018

North Korea Gets Caught Again. Now What?

By Todd Rosenblum

North Korea was caught again. The Washington Post reported on July 30 that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is still constructing long-range missiles capable of reaching the US homeland. This may not be a technical violation of Pyongyang’s agreements with the United States, but it is significant. North Korea has been riding high […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

Aug 1, 2018

Pompeo’s Indo-Pacific Investment Plan Offers an Alternative to Beijing

By Bharath Gopalaswamy

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out a new vision for American economic engagement in the Indo-Pacific on July 30, announcing the rollout of a new US regional infrastructure initiative, which, while not explicitly targeting China’s growing economic power in the region, will attempt to provide Indo-Pacific countries with an American financial alternative to […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Jul 31, 2018

Is North Korea Really Committed to Peace?

By David Wemer

US intelligence officials believe that North Korea is continuing to build new intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), despite North Korean leader Kim Jung Un’s promise to work towards denuclearization after a summit with US President Donald J. Trump in June. The intelligence findings, which were reported by The Washington Post on July 30, raise questions about […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

Jul 31, 2018

A Free and Open Indo-Pacific

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The Trump administration has turned its attention squarely toward the Indo-Pacific, with one eye firmly on an increasingly assertive China. In a significant policy speech in Washington on July 30, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States seeks “partnership, not domination,” in the Indo-Pacific. In a thinly veiled reference to China, Pompeo […]

Economy & Business Indo-Pacific

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2018

Trump Says He’s Willing to Meet Iran’s Rouhani Without Preconditions

By David Wemer

Eight days ago, US President Donald J. Trump warned Hassan Rouhani of dire “consequences” should the Iranian president persist with his threats against the United States. On July 30, Trump said he would be willing to meet with the Iranian leader at any time “with no preconditions.” “If they [the Iranians] want to meet, we’ll […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2018

US Engagement in the Balkans is Critical, Says Albania’s Foreign Minister

By Atlantic Council

Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati says US engagement in the Balkans is critical to ensure that there will be no derailment of the effort by Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to normalize relations that would pave the way for the latter to join NATO. “Now that both countries [Greece and Macedonia] […]

European Union International Organizations

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