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.

David Miliband: Europe’s Feeble Response to Migrant Crisis Threatens EU

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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Middle East Strategy Task Force

Sep 19, 2015

David Miliband: Europe’s Feeble Response to Migrant Crisis Threatens EU

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Former British Foreign Secretary says United States, too, must ‘up its game’ and take in more refugees Europe’s “feeble” response to the migrant crisis—the largest displacement of people since World War II—is threatening the European Union, and European countries as well as the United States need to step up to do more to help these […]

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Sep 17, 2015

Iran Debates Its Regional Role

By Bilal Y. Saab

University of Tehran Professor Nasser Hadian’s article Iran Debates Its Regional Role is a must-read for two main reasons: First, even though we know a bit more about Iran today because of a long negotiation with the P5+1 over the nuclear issue and extensive interaction among Iranian and Western diplomats, we still know very little […]

New Atlanticist

Sep 17, 2015

Wanted: All—Transatlantic—Hands on Deck for Implementation of Iran Deal

By Peter Wittig

Two factors made it possible to reach the nuclear agreement with Iran. First, unity was key. The agreement is also a transatlantic success. During the negotiations, the P5+1—that is, the United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, and China—and the European Union remained united in the goal of preventing the nuclear armament of Iran. Second, […]

Germany Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2015

Is a US-Russia Confrontation Over Syria in the Cards?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

The Obama administration will have to confront Russia and Iran—supporters of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad—if it wants to win the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), Frederic C. Hof, a Resident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center, said September 16. Russia’s recently ramped up military presence in […]

Iran Russia

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2015

Snapback: An Innovative Feature of the Iran Nuclear Deal

By Gérard Araud

Over the past two months, much has been said and written about the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreed with Iran on July 14. We are now drawing to the end of this phase, with the review of the agreement by the US Congress expected to come to its conclusion by September 17. During […]

France Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2015

Russia’s Gazprom Unable to Do Without Europe

By John M. Roberts

Russia has confirmed the primacy of Nord Stream—a natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea—in its efforts to replace Ukrainian transit routes for gas exports to Europe, diminishing the likely role to be played by its southern counterpart, Turkish Stream. The agreement, signed September 4 in Vladivostok, sets out the shareholding arrangements for the project […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2015

What Europe Needs to Do to Solve its Energy Security Problem

By Ilona Dózsa

Over the past few years, the European Union (EU) has sought to enhance its energy security by implementing the Third Energy Package, proposing an Energy Union, holding Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom to competition rules, and actively pursuing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Central Europe Eastern Europe

New Atlanticist

Sep 11, 2015

ICT Drives Global Growth, But it Doesn’t Come for Free

By Alejandro Alvarez

Data insecurity and the buildup of offensive cyber capabilities are among the gravest threats to global economic prosperity in the modern era, according to a report by the Atlantic Council, in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group and the University of Denver’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures. The key message is that ICT drives […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Sep 11, 2015

Next on the US-Cuba Horizon

By Jason Marczak

Since December 17, 2014, seismic changes in US-Cuba relations have reshaped the landscape of each country’s interactions with Latin America and the global community. Despite much optimism, there is still a long road ahead for Cuba’s languishing economy, which needs to grow its nascent private sector and attract greater foreign investment. As much of the […]

Cuba

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2015

Energizing Democracy in Benin

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Benin’s President sees hope in new Millennium Challenge Corporation power sector compact A new five-year, $375-million deal to develop the power sector in Benin will be the engine that will “jumpstart” democracy by contributing to stability in the West African nation, Benin’s President, Thomas Boni Yayi, said September 10. Noting that the “winds of democracy […]

Africa North & West Africa

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