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

Jun 7, 2016

Tunisia Seen Key to Regional Prosperity

By Mitch Hulse

Tunisia’s democratic transition and economic growth can lead to security and stability in a volatile neighborhood, according to a US government official. “A successful Tunisia benefits not only the Tunisian people but enhances security, prosperity, and influence in the region as well,” Paige Alexander, assistant administrator for the Bureau for the Middle East at the […]

North Africa

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2016

The Foreign Policy of New Energy

By Thomas Cunningham

The geopolitics of oil and gas are on one hand; climate change negotiations are on the other. The next set of energy-foreign policy challenges will be somewhere in the middle. The global energy landscape is characterized by constant change, and every energy issue has foreign policy implications. Therefore, the speed and effectiveness with which an […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2016

Atlantic Council Honors Champions of Freedom

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Recipients of the Atlantic Council’s Freedom Awards on June 3 delivered impassioned pleas to safeguard the freedoms they have dedicated their lives to protect. “By criminalizing forms of expression, unintentionally or otherwise, we risk pushing people into the welcoming arms of extremists,” said Nighat Dad, a Pakistani Internet activist and founder of Digital Rights Foundation. “Covering our […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2016

NATO’s Warsaw Summit: ‘Failure is Not an Option’

By Mitch Hulse

NATO’s Warsaw summit in July is shaping up to be one of the most consequential in the alliance’s history, NATO Deputy Secretary General Alexander Vershbow said on June 3 while noting the growing challenges on Europe’s southern and eastern flanks. “We face one of the most challenging security environments in decades,” Vershbow said. “We have […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 2, 2016

Polish Foreign Minister Seeks ‘Substantial’ NATO Buildup on Europe’s Eastern Flank

By Ashish Kumar Sen

NATO should undertake a “substantial” military buildup in Poland and the Baltic States to address the challenge posed by an “aggressive” and “revisionist” Russia, Poland’s Foreign Minister, Witold Waszczykowski, said on June 2. “NATO’s keyword should be deterrence…not as an offensive measure, but rather as the most effective and, in fact, only instrument of peacebuilding,” […]

Eastern Europe NATO

New Atlanticist

May 31, 2016

The Politics of Israel: Hold on for a Bumpy Ride

By Richard LeBaron

While Americans observed the Memorial Day holiday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conceded to demands by his education minister (and former chief of staff) Naftali Bennett that cleared the way for the approval of Avigdor Lieberman as defense minister. Bennett has long wanted better access to information reserved for Israel’s security cabinet, but his willingness […]

Israel

New Atlanticist

May 27, 2016

Lessons from the Price of Oil

By Brenda Shaffer

The global oil price this week rose to the $50-a-barrel mark and, for the first time since it began a downward spiral two years ago, seems to have ended the lowest stretch of this current price cycle. The behavior of the price of oil over the past two years has important lessons, particularly as we […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

Bremain vs Brexit

May 25, 2016

Europe Facing a ‘Stress Test’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

British ambassador makes the case for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union Europe is facing a “stress test” in the form of challenges from a “belligerent” Russia, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, a historic influx of migrants, high rates of unemployment, and low levels of trust in European institutions, the […]

European Union International Organizations

Bremain vs Brexit

May 25, 2016

Brexit Campaign Makes a Meal of Turkey

By John M. Roberts

Turkey has, quite unexpectedly, become a core issue in the United Kingdom’s referendum on membership of the European Union, prompting British Prime Minister David Cameron to effectively call one of his junior ministers a liar for saying the UK has no veto on Turkey’s entry into the EU. While those who favor the UK’s exit […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2016

Taliban Leader’s Death Puts Pakistan on Notice

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Drone strike should send a signal that the United States will not tolerate terrorist safe havens, said Atlantic Council’s James B. Cunningham The US drone strike that killed Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in Pakistan over the weekend should send a clear signal that the United States will no longer tolerate terrorist sanctuaries in […]

Afghanistan Pakistan

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