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.

Trump is Upset with Pakistan. Here’s What You Need to Know.

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

Jan 11, 2018

Trump is Upset with Pakistan. Here’s What You Need to Know.

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The Trump administration has cut off what is expected to be as much as $1.3 billion in annual security aid to Pakistan in an effort to compel this South Asian nation to end its support for terrorists. Is this a winning strategy? Unlikely. The United States has a longstanding relationship with Pakistan. However, in recent […]

Afghanistan Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Jan 8, 2018

In 2018, Macron’s Biggest Challenge Lies at Home

By Nicholas Dungan

France is off to a beautiful start to 2018—a year that could be a rosy one. At the end of 2017, the Economist designated France its “country of the year” following Emmanuel Macron’s election as president in May and the sweeping victory of his new political movement, La République en Marche! in parliamentary elections in […]

European Union France

New Atlanticist

Jan 5, 2018

Jordan Caught Between Trump and a Hard Place

By Shehab al-Makahleh and Giorgio Cafiero

US president’s Jerusalem decision puts Amman in a bind Jordan has been left with no choice but to oppose US President Donald J. Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel because the issue impacts the kingdom’s security and politics. As Jordanian King Abdullah II focuses more attention on Jerusalem and the unresolved question […]

Middle East

New Atlanticist

Jan 4, 2018

Top Risks of 2018

By Mathew Burrows, Robert A. Manning, and Owen Daniels

Risks are not predictions, but many of the threats posed to global security and stability highlighted in early 2017 have unfortunately materialized over the past year. Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s attempts to try to fill US shoes as it walks away from the world stage and defend globalization at last year’s World Economic Forum, […]

New Atlanticist

Jan 3, 2018

North Korea May Be Trying to Drive a Wedge Between the United States and South Korea

By Ashish Kumar Sen

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely trying to drive a wedge between the United States and South Korea with his uncharacteristic offer of an olive branch to Seoul, according to the Atlantic Council’s Robert A. Manning. On January 3, North Korea reopened a border hotline with South Korea after two years of silence. That […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

Jan 3, 2018

Compromise and Concession Key to NAFTA Renegotiations: A Lesson From The Past

By Diego Marroquin Bitar

Ongoing negotiations in combination with US President Donald J. Trump’s threats to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) unless major concessions are made to serve US interests have unnerved many in all three participating countries who understand that more than the future of a free trade agreement is at risk. All three […]

New Atlanticist

Jan 3, 2018

Afghanistan’s First All-Female TV Network Presses Society’s Buttons

By Teri Schultz

Life for women in Afghanistan has seen many advances since the end of Taliban rule, but the country still ranks poorly when it comes to gender equality. Spousal abuse and child marriage are rampant, while the criminal justice system is ill-equipped to handle complaints from women. Societal silence on these issues compounds the cultural cage […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Jan 2, 2018

A New French Renaissance

By Nicholas Dungan

Just as Queen Elizabeth II offers her yuletide greetings to the British people in her Christmas Day broadcast each December 25, so, tradition goes, the president of France presents his New Year’s wishes to the French people on December 31. Emmanuel Macron’s speech on the last day of 2017 was his first New Year’s address. […]

France

New Atlanticist

Jan 2, 2018

Iranian Habit of Demonstrating Boomerangs Against the Government

By Barbara Slavin

For forty years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has encouraged, even demanded, that its citizens participate in mass demonstrations. Repeatedly, however, Iranians have taken to the streets not to praise the regime, but to protest its policies. The latest protests began December 28, in Mashhad, a conservative city and home to a major Shi’ite Muslim […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 2, 2018

Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Protests in Iran

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iran has been rocked by the most significant protests in almost a decade. At least twenty people have been killed. Amir Handjani, a senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center and a Council board member, discussed the reason for the protests, the Iranian government’s response, and how US President Donald J. Trump should […]

Iran

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