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.

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

Apr 10, 2018

Populists-1, Globalists-0

By Vriddhi Sujan

Fourteen years after Hungary joined the European Union—a celebrated and significant milestone for the post-Communist nation—the country’s deviation from the EU’s shared principles of democracy and freedom is both a source for concern and a warning sign for others following suit.

Hungary

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2018

With Democracy in Retreat and Authoritarians Rising, H.R. McMaster Delivered a Historic Call to Action

By Fred Kempe

Atlantic Council President and CEO Fred Kempe reflects on H.R. McMaster’s last public speech as National Security Advisor Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster’s last public speech as President Trump’s national security advisor was more of a warning than a valedictory. It was delivered with elegance, passion and power at the Atlantic Council, closing a dinner we […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2018

Trump’s Decision to Skip the Summit of the Americas Sends the ‘Wrong Message’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s decision not to attend the Summit of the Americas in Peru this week sends the “wrong message” to many of the United States’ friends in Latin America, according to Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. Trump will skip the summit, scheduled for April 13 […]

Latin America Mexico

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2018

A Brief History of Chemical Weapons in Syria

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump said on April 9 that he will respond within forty-eight hours to an alleged chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has denied responsibility for the attack. Assad was supposed to have given up his chemical weapons under a deal reached in 2013. Here is […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 9, 2018

Five Questions for Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg

By Klara Jordan and Shaun Ee

In the coming week, Congress will turn its attention to someone who has until now managed to fly under its radar—Mark Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive officer of Facebook. On April 10, Zuckerberg will appear as the sole witness before a joint hearing of two Senate committees—the Judiciary Committee and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 9, 2018

Syria: John Bolton’s First Crisis

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Syria presents newly minted US National Security Advisor John Bolton with his first foreign policy crisis. On April 9, hours after US President Donald J. Trump vowed Bashar al-Assad’s regime will pay a “big price” for an alleged chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held Damascus suburb, unidentified jets were reported flying over Lebanon and the […]

Israel Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2018

Assad May Have Just Tested Trump’s Chemical Weapons Red Line

By Frederic C. Hof

If the reported Assad regime attack on civilians in a suburb of Damascus is as it appears to be—a chemical assault with something much stronger than chlorine—then it is more than the mass murder business-as-usual of a rogue government: it is a signal of utter contempt for the United States and a real challenge to […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 6, 2018

US Sanctions on Oligarchs Send a Warning to Russia

By Daniel Fried

The Trump administration’s latest Russia sanctions package is solid and strong. It hits oligarchs tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin and their associated companies, two “golden children” (corrupt and privileged children of the Putin elite), Rosoboroneksport (the Russian arms firm), and selected officials. While leaving plenty of room for escalation, the new package also avoids […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 6, 2018

With New Sanctions the US Treasury Goes after Putin’s Inner Circle

By Anders Åslund

Sanctions imposed by the US Treasury on thirty-eight Russian individuals and entities on April 6 essentially correspond to Section 241 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Officially, the designations hit seven Russian oligarchs and twelve companies belonging to them, seventeen senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company together […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 6, 2018

Trump Administration Targets Russian Oligarchs

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s administration on April 6 slapped sanctions on seven oligarchs with close ties to Vladimir Putin, including the Russian president’s son-in-law and a businessman with ties to Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The sanctions are “in response to the totality of the Russian government’s ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern of […]

Russia

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