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.

In the Line of Fire: British MP’s Murder Puts Focus on Security

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 17, 2016

In the Line of Fire: British MP’s Murder Puts Focus on Security

By John M. Roberts

Those were revolutionary times when Edmund Burke, in 1774, best described the duties of an elected representative to a parliament, national assembly or congress: “Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.” What the representative should not expect […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Jun 17, 2016

Memo to Next US President: Don’t Squander Opportunity with Iran

By Mitch Hulse

The nuclear deal with Iran has laid the foundation for a stable relationship between the United States and Iran, and the next US administration must prioritize ties with the Islamic Republic, panelists agreed at a conference at the Atlantic Council in Washington on June 16.

Elections Iran

New Atlanticist

Jun 16, 2016

Ben Rhodes: Tearing Up Iran Nuke Deal Will Precipitate a Crisis in the Middle East

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The next US president would precipitate a crisis in the Middle East and alienate America’s allies if he or she decides to tear up the nuclear deal with Iran, a senior White House official said at the Atlantic Council on June 16. “The way in which the Iran deal was structured creates enormous disincentives for […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Jun 16, 2016

Egypt’s Economy Stuck in the ‘Doldrums’

By Julia Goldman

Political instability, insecurity seen hurting foreign investment, tourism The Egyptian economy is “in the doldrums” as a result of political instability and insecurity that have led to inconsistent economic policies and depressed foreign investment, said Mohsin Khan, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Khan spoke in […]

North Africa

New Atlanticist

Jun 15, 2016

Russian Cyber Attacks in the United States Will ‘Intensify’

By Mitch Hulse

Russian intelligence hacked the Democratic National Committee’s network, says Atlantic Council’s Dmitri Alperovitch Russian intelligence services hacked the Democratic National Committee’s computer network and accessed opposition research on Donald Trump, according to the Atlantic Council’s Dmitri Alperovitch. Two Russian groups—codenamed FancyBear and CozyBear—have been identified as spearheading the DNC breach. “We have a very high-level […]

Cybersecurity Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 15, 2016

Tourism in Turkey Takes a Hit

By John M. Roberts

Istanbul is commonly described as a city on two continents. Well, Istanbul’s main airport is now a city of two worlds: its transit halls as full as ever; the arrival areas eerily quiet. This is the visible side of the collapse of tourism in Turkey, the consequence of bombings in cities and a return to […]

Turkey

New Atlanticist

Jun 14, 2016

DNC Hack: ‘No Certain Links’ to Foreign Governments

By Mitch Hulse

There are “no certain links” between foreign nation states and the hackers who breached the Democratic National Committee’s computer network and accessed opposition research on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, according to an Atlantic Council cybersecurity expert. “It’s possible that multiple groups independently initiated their own intrusion of the DNC network, for entirely separate reasons—that […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jun 14, 2016

Is Libya’s Breakup Imminent?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

War on ISIS may put rival Libyan forces on a collision course, said the Atlantic Council’s Karim Mezran The battle to drive the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham out of the Libyan city of Sirte may have the unintended consequence of putting in proximity forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government in the west […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2016

Security Seen as Priority for Megacities

By Mitch Hulse

Densely populated cities need to prioritize safety and security as urbanization rates swell and resources become strained, said Tom Ridge, the first US secretary of homeland security.

Brazil France

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2016

Former US Officials to White House: In Orlando Response, Don’t Get Distracted by Campaign Rhetoric

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As a lone gunman’s deadly rampage at an Orlando nightclub in the early hours of June 12—the worst mass shooting in modern US history—dominated the presidential campaign rhetoric, former US officials advised the Obama administration to remain above the fray. “I wouldn’t react to the political campaigns’ rhetoric,” said Frances Fragos Townsend, a former homeland […]

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