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.

Taliban School Assault Seen Likely to Build Consensus on Fighting Terrorism in Pakistan

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

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New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2014

Taliban School Assault Seen Likely to Build Consensus on Fighting Terrorism in Pakistan

By New Atlanticist

Counter-Terror Drive in Waziristan Has Dislodged, Not Destroyed, Militants, Says Shuja Nawaz The killing by Pakistan’s Taliban of more than 140 people, mostly children, at a school is likely to “provide some glue for a consensus [in Pakistan] that you cannot negotiate with terrorist groups,” according to Atlantic Council South Asia specialist Shuja Nawaz. The […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2014

Education Policy Opportunity Missed at the Ibero-American Summit

By Gabriel Sánchez Zinny

The 24th Ibero-American Summit, which sought to put the focus on education in the context of slow economic growth, did not produce a specific proposal to address the challenges of developing human capital.

New Atlanticist

Dec 15, 2014

Moldova at a Tipping Point: Four Ways the US Should Help

By Damon Wilson

Small Steps for a Small Country Could Strengthen Europe Against Russia’s Assaults In the shadow of Ukraine’s war for true independence from Russia, the small country of Moldova is entering a critical chapter of its parallel struggle. Frustrated Moldovan voters last month reelected their pro-democratic government, but also delivered a warning that concrete economic and […]

Eastern Europe Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Dec 15, 2014

If Ukraine’s Violence Is Not Addressed, Transformation Will Be Slow, Says Top IMF Official

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Violence in southeastern Ukraine could adversely impact the country’s economic transformation, Aasim M. Husain, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund’s European Department, told the Atlantic Council.

Eastern Europe Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Dec 11, 2014

Isolated from the West, President Putin Visits India

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Bharath Gopalaswamy: ‘Russia is keen to demonstrate that it has friends in other parts of the world’ The meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on December 11 sought to re-energize a relationship between two nations which had its peak during the Cold War.

India Russia

New Atlanticist

Dec 11, 2014

Amid Hong Kong Protests, China Escalates Mainland Crackdown, Too

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘Off-the-Charts Harsh Sentences’ Against Anti-Corruption Protesters in Chinese Cities The government of President Xi Jinping is conducting “one of the harshest” Chinese campaigns against civil society and peaceful dissent in the past decade, according to a prominent human rights activist. The campaign has come amid the pro-democracy protests that have roiled Hong Kong since September. […]

China

New Atlanticist

Dec 11, 2014

Estonia’s Prime Minister: NATO Presence Key to Counter Russia’s Provocations

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US forces should remain in Estonia for “as long as needed,” since tensions between Russia and the West show no sign of abating, Estonia’s Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas told the Atlantic Council.

NATO Northern Europe

New Atlanticist

Dec 10, 2014

Coalition Troops Officially End Combat Mission in Afghanistan Amid Growing Security Concerns

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As US and NATO troops depart Afghanistan, they are taking with them their expertise, hardware, dollars, and jobs – and also leaving behind many questions about the fate of that country’s security and economy.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Dec 9, 2014

Light at the End of the Tunnel? The Baghdad-Erbil Agreement over Tax Revenues and Oil Exports

By David Koranyi

The dealThe harmony between the messages of federal Iraqi Oil Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami was striking at a panel at the Atlantic Council’s annual Energy and Economic Summit in Istanbul this November. This new tone in Arab -Kurdish relations within Iraq was showcased by the […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 9, 2014

How TTIP Can Enhance EU-US Energy Security and Counterbalance Russia’s Energy Weight

By Vicente Lopez-Ibor Mayor

It should come as no surprise that during talks between US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU Foreign Affairs Chief Federica Mogherini last week, Mogherini called for the inclusion of a specific energy chapter in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement.

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

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