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
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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

Experts React

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.

Markup

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

New Atlanticist

Mar 17, 2018

The Battle Over Nord Stream II

By Rachel Ansley

Despite US sanctions, the Kremlin’s pursuit of a free hand to maintain dominance over Europe’s energy market by using Nord Stream II has sparked fierce debate among Western democracies over the importance of the proposed pipeline. “This is not about a pipeline,” said Agnia Grigas, a nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2018

Here’s What to Expect From Yet Another Putin Presidency

By Anders Åslund

Vladimir Putin, who has ruled Russia for the past eighteen years, is set to rule for another six. It is almost predictable how he will act over the course of his next term in office. Putin has constructed a regime based on personal authoritarianism. This regime does not depend on ideology, party or family, but […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2018

US Imposes Sanctions on Russia Over Election Meddling

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald J. Trump’s administration on March 15 announced new sanctions on Russian individuals and organizations in response to Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and cyberattacks, including attempts to the hack the US energy grid. This is the most significant action by the Trump administration against Russia to date. The sanctions target […]

Russia United States and Canada

US President Donald J. Trump has nominated Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo (pictured) to serve as the next US Secretary of State. Pompeo, whose parents came to the United States from Italy, is being greeted in Europe with caution and concern. (Reuters/Eric Thayer)

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2018

A Storm is Brewing in Transatlantic Relations

By Louis Golino

Recent events in Washington, especially the nomination by US President Donald J. Trump of Mike Pompeo to be the next secretary of state and US imposition of tariffs on aluminum and steel imports, combined with a Europe that is politically weakened and internally focused, are helping create what may become the worst divergence in the […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2018

7 Things to Know About the Past 7 Years of War in Syria

By Rachel Ansley

When protests erupted against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria in 2011, no one could have anticipated the level of violence, trauma, and devastation that would result from that uprising over the next seven years. The Syrian civil war began on March 15, 2011. The conflict has been fought by a constellation of rebel groups and […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2018

Bashar al-Assad: A Profile of a Mass Murderer

By Carmen Gentile

March 15 marks the seventh year of the Syrian uprising, which at its start resembled other protests across the Middle East known then as the Arab Spring. A harsh crackdown by the Syrian regime transformed those student-led demonstrations into an armed uprising that has left hundreds of thousands dead, with some estimates as high as […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2018

Britain Expels Russian Diplomats Over Attempted Assassination. Is that Enough?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

British Prime Minister Theresa May on March 14 expelled twenty-three Russian diplomats and suspended high-level contacts with Moscow after blaming Russia for poisoning a former Russian spy and his daughter in the United Kingdom. The expulsion, which May described as the largest in more than thirty years, will add further strain to an already tense […]

Russia United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2018

The Other Firing At State And What That Means

By Graham Lampa

The firing of Steve Goldstein, the suddenly former under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, will have a three-fold negative impact on the United States’ pursuit of its strategic foreign policy interests overseas, in addition to and distinct from the effects of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s firing earlier the same day. […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2018

From Russia With Hate

By Stephen Blank

The poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal, his daughter, and twenty-one other British citizens in Salisbury is the most recent of too many such examples. On March 12, days after the attempted assassination of Skripal, Nikolai Glushkov, a critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in his home in […]

Russia United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2018

A State of Mind: Tillerson vs. Pompeo on the Issues, and What that Means for US Foreign Policy

By Atlantic Council

Newly former US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and his replacement, former Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo, do not necessarily see eye to eye on every major foreign policy issue. Their divergent views raise serious questions as to how the shake-up in leadership at Foggy Bottom will alter the course of US foreign policy […]

Iran Korea

Share

Issue briefs and reports