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.

Europe Grapples with the Migrant Question

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

Sep 3, 2015

Europe Grapples with the Migrant Question

By Ashish Kumar Sen

As war and poverty fuel surge in migration, Europe debates immigration, integration, and identity As the world faces its biggest migrant crisis since World War II, governments across Europe are struggling to find a solution to a situation that is as much about integration and identity as it is about immigration. The European Union (EU) […]

Africa European Union

New Atlanticist

Sep 1, 2015

‘Why is Pakistan Playing this Game?’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Afghan lawmaker, Shinkai Karokhail, says Pakistan has been ‘selective’ about dealing with terrorists Shinkai Karokhail, a member of the budget and finance committee of the lower house (Wolesi Jirga) of the Afghan National Assembly and a longtime activist for women’s rights, education, and conflict prevention, sat down with the New Atlanticist’s Ashish Kumar Sen for […]

Afghanistan Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 1, 2015

A View from Tbilisi: Are the Euro-Atlantic Partners Ready to Accept Russia’s Notion of a ‘Near Abroad’?

By Tedo Japaridze

NATO summits are filled with Georgian expectations. The Warsaw Summit in July of 2016 is no exception. Since the Bucharest Summit (2008), Georgia’s engagement with NATO has seemed to gravitate around the theme of a Membership Action Plan (MAP) as a prelude to NATO membership. The discussion itself is perhaps too focused on Georgia, when […]

NATO Russia

New Atlanticist

Aug 28, 2015

In Uzbekistan, Authoritarianism Will Keep ISIS at Bay

By Renee Slawsky

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has a long reach, but can it reach across the wide expanse of Central Asia? The thought of Central Asians fighting for the caliphate— particularly in Uzbekistan, the most populous of Central Asian countries—makes US policymakers and Eurasia watchers uneasy, but the complex relationship between Islam and […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 28, 2015

NATO, EU Need Political Will from Europe to Tackle Challenges

By Bogdan Klich

In recent years we have witnessed significant changes in Europe’s eastern and southern neighborhood that have had a profoundly negative impact on our security. The threat from the East, whose nature could be described as traditional or conventional, stems from Russia’s aggressive posture. The illegal annexation of Crimea and the armed intervention in the eastern […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 26, 2015

Yet Another Peace Deal in South Sudan

By Ashish Kumar Sen

International community must keep up pressure to ensure this agreement sticks, says Atlantic Council’s J. Peter Pham The international community must keep up its pressure on rival sides in South Sudan if it wants to ensure the success of a peace agreement President Salva Kiir reluctantly signed August 26, says the Atlantic Council’s J. Peter […]

Africa East Africa

New Atlanticist

Aug 25, 2015

Renewable Energy as a Potential Vehicle for Détente with Iran

By Thomas Buonomo

The nuclear agreement concluded between the EU+3 and Iran, if implemented, would buy ten years for the international community to devise a more sustainable solution to the security dilemma Iran’s nuclear program presents, after which the agreement’s safeguards would begin to expire. There is, in principle, no reason why the agreement could not be extended […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Aug 24, 2015

Ukraine Has Every Right to Play Hardball With Its Creditors

By Josh Cohen

As Ukraine fights Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas, the government is simultaneously engaged in a battle with its foreign creditors for the debt relief it desperately needs to prevent a full-scale economic collapse. Private investors hold about $19 billion of Ukrainian debt. To stave off disaster, the International Monetary Fund and other western donors agreed […]

Russia Ukraine

Europe After The Vote

Aug 21, 2015

In Greece, It’s Splitsville for Syriza

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Greek voters will line up behind Alexis Tsipras in next election, says Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell Greek voters will rally behind Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who lost part of his Syriza party August 21 after he was forced by creditors to abandon his anti-austerity stance, says the Atlantic Council’s Fran Burwell. “My guess is that […]

European Union Greece

New Atlanticist

Aug 21, 2015

Selling the Iran Deal

By Owen Daniels

Four arguments the Obama administration will use to win over Congress With lawmakers a little over a month into the sixty-day congressional review period for the Iran nuclear agreement or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), US President Barack Obama’s administration is racing to secure votes of approval from undecided congressmen. The President has already […]

Iran

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