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-China Cooperation Vital for the Success of Trump-Kim Summit

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

Jun 11, 2018

US-China Cooperation Vital for the Success of Trump-Kim Summit

By Wang Junsheng

When US President Donald J. Trump meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 it will be due in large part to the close cooperation between the United States and China over the past year. Sino-US cooperation is critical to resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis. Since Trump took office in 2017, […]

China Korea

A standing woman leaning over a table is explaining something to a man who is sitting with his arms crossed. They are surrounded by other men and women.

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2018

Present at the Destruction?

By Frederick Kempe

The crucial question for the Trump era was posed this week by Donald Tusk, the past Polish Prime Minister and current European Council President, whose country sacrificed so much to join the rules-based global order he fears President Trump is endangering.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2018

The Brexit Trap: Checking Out is Easier Than Leaving the EU

By Reginald Dale

Advocates of a “hard” Brexit, granting the United Kingdom full independence from the European Union (EU), are belatedly beginning to understand that the EU is a bit like Hotel California in the famous song by the Eagles—”You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!” As British Prime Minister Theresa May’s […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2018

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats: Russia is Attempting to Influence US Midterms, Divide Transatlantic Alliance

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Russia is attempting to influence the midterm elections in the United States in November as well as divide the transatlantic alliance, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned at a meeting co-hosted by the Atlantic Council in Normandy, France, on June 8. Coats said Russia had already undertaken an “unprecedented influence campaign to interfere […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2018

The United States Stands Isolated at a Meeting of its Friends

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Cracks in the United States’ relationships with some of its closest friends and allies were on full display at a meeting of the world’s largest economies in Canada this week. The fissures have been caused by US President Donald J. Trump’s America First approach that has led to the US withdrawal from two multilateral agreements—the […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 8, 2018

Trump Wants Russia Back in the G7

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s suggestion that Russia be invited back to a grouping of the world’s largest economies is likely to deepen divisions with allies already irked by the president’s policies. Trump on June 8 called for Russia to be reinstated into the G7 from which it was expelled following its annexation of Crimea […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2018

Syria Just Backed Russia’s Illegal Occupation of Georgian Regions

By Mikheil Janelidze

Last week, Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria illegally recognized Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (so-called South Ossetia), two historic regions of Georgia, as independent states. This was done undoubtedly at the behest of Assad’s main patron—Russia. With this act, the Assad regime declared its support for Russia’s military aggression against Georgia, the illegal occupation of Abkhazia and […]

Russia Syria

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

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