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.

Iran, Syria, Russia Seen as Top Challenges in the Middle East

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

Feb 17, 2016

Iran, Syria, Russia Seen as Top Challenges in the Middle East

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iran, Syria, and Russia together pose the biggest challenge in the Middle East today, and any notion that there can be an alignment of the interests of Tehran and Washington is unrealistic, three former US officials said at the Atlantic Council on February 16. “We have an Iran-Syria-Russia problem right now in the Middle East,” […]

Iran Iraq

New Atlanticist

Feb 16, 2016

Raising the Price for Putin

By Evelyn Farkas

Russia poses a geostrategic threat to the United States and our interests. Indeed, earlier this month Defense Secretary Ash Carter listed it first among the threats faced by our nation. It is unfortunate that in the twenty-first century Russia and the United States remain opposed to one another on most foreign policy issues. The reality […]

National Security Russia

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2016

A Mosquito Adds to Brazilian President’s Woes

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Zika epidemic seen as one of a ‘litany of problems’ on President Dilma Rousseff’s lap There is never a good time for an epidemic, but Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will agree that the outbreak of mosquito-borne Zika in her country could not have come at a worse time. Rousseff, who is facing impeachment charges, has […]

Brazil

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2016

Report Finds More than a Million Civilians Under Siege in Syria

By Mitch Hulse

More than a million civilians are currently suffering under siege from both pro-government and rebel-allied forces across Syria, according to a new report from PAX and the Syria Institute. Last month, the international community was shocked to learn about Madaya—a besieged Syrian town where up to 300,000 civilians have been essentially cut off from the […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Feb 12, 2016

Obama’s Sunnylands Summit: Does ASEAN Really Matter?

By Robert A. Manning

OK, OK, I get the symbolism, but it is a measure of how devalued the language of diplomacy can be that US President Barack Obama would hold an unprecedented summit at Sunnylands in California with ten heads of state whose countries comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to talk of a “strategic partnership.” […]

New Atlanticist

Feb 11, 2016

Libya Remains a Weak Link in Effort to Curb Migrant Flow into Europe

By Ashish Kumar Sen

NATO deploys ships to Aegean Sea to counter human trafficking between Turkey and Greece NATO’s decision to deploy ships to the Aegean Sea in an attempt to deter the smuggling of migrants from Turkey into Greece focuses on just one aspect of the problem; to Europe’s south, in Libya, a well-established human-trafficking network continues to […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Feb 11, 2016

President Hassan Rouhani’s Defense Policy

By Abbas Qaidaari

A study of the tensions between the United States and its allies in the region with Iran shows that both sides have misunderstood and miscalculated their defense policies and strategies in the Middle East. Many Western critics do not understand the basis and distinguishing features of the Rouhani government’s strategy. Based on general policies of […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Feb 11, 2016

Questions to Consider as NATO Responds to Migrant Crisis

By Steven Horrell

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s February 11 announcement that NATO has agreed to a proposal from Germany, Greece, and Turkey to assist with the refugee and migrant crisis in the eastern Mediterranean and Aegean Seas is an important response to a refugee crisis that has enormous implications for Europe. NATO’s naval response, however, opens up […]

European Union Greece

New Atlanticist

Feb 10, 2016

Could China Use Force to Settle Taiwan Sovereignty Issue?

By Mitch Hulse

China-Taiwan relations have warmed significantly as a consequence of increased economic interdependence, but some analysts believe that Beijing may ultimately use force to settle the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty. The election in January of Taiwan’s first female President, Tsai Ing-wen, who leads the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, has been viewed warily by Beijing. Soon after […]

China

New Atlanticist

Feb 9, 2016

Saudi Offer to Deploy Troops to Syria ‘Turns the Tables’ on the United States

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Plan seen taking heat off Gulf Arab states over role in war on ISIS, putting onus on the United States to do more Saudi Arabia’s offer to deploy ground troops to fight the Islamic State in Syria is seen as putting pressure on the Obama administration—which has been urging its Arab Gulf partners to ramp […]

Iran Russia

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