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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

Experts React

Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

Markup

Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2015

Vietnam on the Tigris and Euphrates?

By Harlan Ullman

For those of us old enough to recall the Vietnam War, fact and reality were obscured and mangled by successive White Houses anxious to reach the delusional “light at the end of the tunnel.” Tragically, at the end of the tunnel lay a quagmire that consumed 58,000 American and countless Vietnamese lives. In the highly complex […]

Iraq Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2015

Can Morocco Talks Unite Libyan Rivals?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analyst says ISIS threat must galvanize political foes Rival factions in Libya must come together for talks in Morocco this week to take on the threat posed by an affiliate of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), says Atlantic Council analyst Fadel Lamen. An ISIS affiliate has exploited the political and […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2015

Kroenig: NATO Should Develop Credible Response to Russian Nuclear Strike

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analyst says US, NATO lack adequate nuclear deterrence policy The United States and NATO lack an adequate nuclear deterrence policy even as Russia has put the nuclear option at the center of its national security strategy, according to Atlantic Council analyst Matthew Kroenig. “NATO should strengthen its nuclear declaratory policy and develop new, […]

National Security NATO

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2015

ISIL Affiliates, Foreign Fighters ‘Preeminent’ Concern, Allen Says

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US envoy says officials in West, Middle East, and Southeast Asia are worried about growing threat Officials in Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia worry about the threat posed by affiliates of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and their potential to inspire foreign fighters, says retired Gen John Allen, the […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2015

As NATO Seeks a Response to Russia, Is It Getting Enough Exercise?

By New Atlanticist

Raw Numbers on Military Drills Suggest a Gap in the West’s Deterrence Readers who don’t specialize in NATO or military affairs may have missed a report from the NATOSource blog last week on a wide gap between the scale of military exercises conducted by Russia and by the NATO alliance. In the past two years, […]

New Atlanticist

Feb 28, 2015

Storify: Russian Opposition Leader, Boris Nemtsov, Killed in Moscow

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic Russian opposition leader, was shot dead near the Kremlin in Moscow on February 27. Nemtsov, a former Deputy Prime Minister, had accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of leading Russia into a crisis with the West with his “mad, aggressive, and deadly policy of war against Ukraine.” “The country needs a political […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Feb 26, 2015

War Game Finds ISIS Escalating: Major Attack Unlikely to Alter US Approach

By Ashish Kumar Sen

How would the United States respond if the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) were to either take control of several Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad or conduct a major terrorist attack on the al-Asad airbase in Iraq where US personnel are based? Neither development would spur the United States to draw down its presence […]

New Atlanticist

Feb 25, 2015

Is Bangladesh on the Brink?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

A decision by a court in Bangladesh to issue an arrest warrant for Khaleda Zia on February 25 is likely to escalate tensions between the opposition leader’s supporters and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. “We don’t know how this will play out or whether it will precipitate a deeper crisis, but one thing is for […]

South Asia

New Atlanticist

Feb 24, 2015

Can al-Shabaab Strike the United States?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Somali terror group has sympathizers, but no active sleeper cell in United States, says Atlantic Council’s Pham Al-Shabaab, the al Qaeda-linked militant group in Somalia, has sympathizers in the United States, but likely does not have the ability to strike targets in the West, despite its recent threat to do so, according to Atlantic Council […]

Africa East Africa

New Atlanticist

Feb 24, 2015

US-Cuba Round 2: Tough Talks Ahead

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analysts say both Washington and Havana have incentives to see progress The second round of talks between the United States and Cuba on February 27 will be marked by tough negotiations, but both sides have incentives to work toward a breakthrough, according to Atlantic Council analysts. “The United States wants to do a […]

Cuba

Share

Issue briefs and reports