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
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

Dec 3, 2015

Five Questions: The World in 2035

Alexander Dynkin, Director of the Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, and Mathew Burrows, Director of the Strategic Foresight Initiative at the Atlantic Council, explain the ideas behind the new joint study of the world as it could be in 2035: Global System on the Brink: Pathways Towards A New Normal. The co-authored […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2015

NATO’s Invitation to Montenegro an ‘Important’ Response to Russia’s Bluster

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Damon Wilson says decision puts NATO on a ‘safer path forward for security and stability’ NATO’s invitation to Montenegro to join the military alliance — its first expansion since 2009 — is the right decision, has significant implications, and is an important response to Russia’s actions in Eastern Europe, said Damon Wilson, Executive […]

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2015

Saudi Arabia Prepares for OPEC Clash as Succession Questions Linger

By Jareer Elass

Saudi Arabia will face pressure in Vienna this week from fellow members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to rethink the group’s strategy of sustained high oil output that is causing economic pain to most oil producers. The OPEC meeting on Dec. 4 comes at a time when Gulf watchers are questioning […]

Saudi Arabia

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2015

Clinton to Maduro: Respect Vote’s Outcome

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Democratic presidential frontrunner says Venezuelan government doing ‘all it can to rig’ parliamentary elections The Venezuelan government must respect the outcome of parliamentary elections scheduled for Dec. 6, former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said at the Atlantic Council on Nov. 30. “As the people of Venezuela go the ballot box this weekend, it […]

Venezuela

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2015

US Response to Migrant Crisis an ‘Existential Issue’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former State Department official, R. Nicholas Burns, says United States needs to do more to help Syrian war refugees Americans need to repudiate the “deeply offensive” anti-migrant rhetoric coming from Republican presidential frontrunners Donald Trump and Ben Carson that runs contrary to the founding principles of the United States of America, said R. Nicholas Burns, […]

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2015

How to Prevent a Turkish-Russian Clash

By Ariel Cohen

The downing of a Russian warplane by Turkey could derail the grand coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) that French President François Hollande is trying to put together by visiting Washington and Moscow, and getting Beijing on board. The escalation of tensions between Russia and Turkey — historic rivals around the […]

Russia Syria

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2015

Turkey Shot Down a Russian Jet. Here’s Why it Matters.

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The downing of a Russian SU-24 fighter jet by Turkey after it violated Turkish airspace and ignored ten warnings exemplifies the danger of Russian military support for Syria’s embattled President Bashar al-Assad. But it will also complicate French President François Hollande’s quest to include Moscow in a unified coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq […]

Iraq NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2015

Wanted: A Strong Stand Against Russia

By John E. Herbst

The shoot-down by Turkish fighters of a Russian warplane in Turkish airspace is an event of major significance in Syria, Ukraine, and beyond. The savage attack by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) in Paris on Nov. 13 has prompted French President François Hollande to seek a grand coalition with the United States […]

Russia Syria

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2015

With Macri’s Election, the ‘Sky is the Limit’ for US-Argentine Ties

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The Atlantic Council’s Peter Schechter discusses the implications of Argentina’s presidential election Mauricio Macri, the conservative Mayor of Buenos Aires, ended more than a decade of Peronist party rule in Argentina when he defeated Daniel Scioli in a hard-fought runoff election on Nov. 23. Macri has promised to roll back President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s […]

Latin America

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2015

A Transatlantic Thanksgiving: Churchill’s 1944 Remarks Still Resonate

By Richard LeBaron

On Nov. 23, 1944, the British Prime Minister made his way to the Royal Albert Hall where the American community in London was commemorating Thanksgiving. It’s not clear whether Winston Churchill invited himself or if his remarks were planned. In any case, his presence was an inspiring surprise for the audience. He spoke for a […]

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