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.

Zimbabwe in ‘Grave Danger’ of Political Violence

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 29, 2016

Zimbabwe in ‘Grave Danger’ of Political Violence

By Kelsey Lilley

Former opposition Member of Parliament cites ‘serious political vacuum’ in the country Zimbabwe is in “grave danger” of political violence and its fractured opposition is “poisoned” because of an undemocratic culture, according to David Coltart, a founding member of the country’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). “There is a very serious […]

Africa

New Atlanticist

Apr 28, 2016

Donald Trump: A ‘Dangerous’ Man

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former US diplomat, R. Nicholas Burns, discusses GOP frontrunner’s foreign policy speech R. Nicholas Burns, an Atlantic Council board director who served as the State Department’s number three official in the George W. Bush administration, offered a searing critique of Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump’s April 27 foreign policy speech in an interview with the […]

China European Union

Congressional Relations

Apr 28, 2016

US Lawmaker Urges ‘Path to EU Accession’ for Turkey

By Mitch Hulse

Turkey will be critical to any US or NATO effort to shape Russia’s behavior in the Middle East and it should be put on the path to joining the European Union, said Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA). “If we want to stabilize a volatile region with a strategic ally we are going to have to put […]

European Union International Organizations

Congressional Relations

Apr 26, 2016

US-India Relationship: Playing Defense

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Deeper defense cooperation seen as key to boosting a trade relationship that has ‘plateaued’ As the United States and India set out to realize their goal of elevating annual bilateral trade to $500 billion over the next decade, deeper defense cooperation will be key to energizing a trade relationship that has “plateaued,” two senior US […]

India Pakistan

Bremain vs Brexit

Apr 25, 2016

Putting TTIP on Hold Would be a ‘Mistake’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Andrea Montanino and Earl Anthony Wayne on the prospects of a US-EU trade agreement A transatlantic trade deal, currently being negotiated by the United States and the European Union, is critical to improving existing standards on issues such as public health, environmental regulations, and labor and safety issues, according to a new Atlantic […]

Economy & Business European Union

Bremain vs Brexit

Apr 22, 2016

To B or Not to B? Obama Steps into Brexit Debate

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Barack Obama’s forceful, and unusual, call for the United Kingdom not to leave the European Union reflects a combination of Washington’s unease over the possibility of a Brexit and its big stake in the outcome of the vote, according to the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell. It is “natural for friends to want to […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Apr 22, 2016

US-GCC Ties Need to Expand Beyond Oil

By Jean-François Seznec

As the perceived notion of oil-for-security diminishes with the United States’ declining demand for oil from the Middle East, the Gulf Cooperation Council states must develop their militaries, fight threatening ideologies, and decrease their economies’ dependence on oil without waiting for the United States to lead the way. However, even as the United States and […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 21, 2016

Former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq Offers a Prescription for Success

By Mitch Hulse

The “integration of civil-military forces” and “sustainable economic development” are critical to the success of state-building efforts, Zalmay Khalilzad, a former US Ambassador to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the United Nations, said at the Atlantic Council on April 20. “There was a clear road map for political transition [in Afghanistan], but we never knew what the […]

Afghanistan Iraq

New Atlanticist

Apr 21, 2016

Is the Taliban Winning?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Deadly suicide bombing in Kabul points to need for Pakistan to end support for terrorists, says Atlantic Council’s James B. Cunningham A deadly suicide bombing in Kabul shows that the Taliban are determined to drag out the conflict, but it also adds a sense of urgency for Pakistan to end its support for the militants, […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 20, 2016

Countering Iran’s malign influence in the Gulf

By Matthew Kroenig

At the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh on April 21, US President Barack Obama will be looking to provide reassurances that the United States remains committed to the security of the region, even as his administration upholds the Iran nuclear agreement, which many of the United States’ Gulf partners see as undermining their interests […]

International Organizations Iran

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