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

Apr 9, 2015

The Bear is Inside the Wire

By Frank J. Cilluffo and Sharon L. Cardash

Russian hackers, fresh from breaching the State Department’s unclassified networks in recent months, have managed to sneak into “sensitive but unclassified” White House networks, CNN reported on April 7. The perpetrators gained access to real-time non-public details of the President’s schedule, precisely the type of information foreign intelligence services prioritize for collection. The White House […]

Cybersecurity Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 9, 2015

Avoiding the ‘New Mediocre’

By Ashish Kumar Sen

IMF Managing Director Lagarde warns against a protracted period of low growth becoming the ‘new reality’ The global economic recovery is “moderate and uneven” and policymakers must work together to prevent a protracted period of low growth from becoming the “new reality,” International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said April 9. While the global […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 9, 2015

Can Gazprom Really Cut Out Ukrainian Transit Post-South Stream?

By Nolan Theisen

Despite an unceremonious end to the controversial South Stream mega-pipeline, Russia remains outspoken and determined in its effort to carve Ukraine entirely out of its European natural gas deliveries which accounted for 62 billion cubic meters (bcm) of Gazprom’s European-bound exports in 2014. Formally announced in 2007, South Stream had been the centerpiece of this […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Apr 9, 2015

Nuclear Deal May Elicit More Bad Behavior from Iran, Says Ex-NSA Jones

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Free of sanctions, Tehran ‘will become more aggressive’ A nuclear deal in hand and free of Western sanctions, Iran could more aggressively undermine US allies through “cyber attacks, subversion, and terrorism,” retired Gen James L. Jones, Jr., said April 8. “Even if a deal is concluded, it is possible that an emboldened Iran free of […]

Cybersecurity Iran

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2015

Al-Qaeda Affiliate Gains from Yemen Crisis

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Al-Qaeda in the Arabia Peninsula (AQAP) has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the crisis in Yemen where its traditional enemies—Saudi Arabia and Zaydi Shia Houthi rebels—are preoccupied in a war against each other. “AQAP is benefitting from the chaos and the collapse of the Yemeni state,” Nabeel Khoury, a Nonresident Senior Fellow […]

Yemen

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2015

Return to Diplomacy ‘Best Bet’ for Yemen

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Nabeel Khoury discusses crisis in Yemen A quick return to diplomacy is the best bet for Yemen, says Nabeel Khoury, a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. Khoury spoke in an interview with the New Atlanticist’s Ashish Kumar Sen. Excerpts below:

Yemen

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2015

Iran Deal: More Hard Work Ahead

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Obama administration faces uphill task with critics in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Congress Now that world powers have struck a deal with Iran limiting Tehran’s nuclear program in return for phased sanctions relief, the Obama administration faces the uphill task of selling the agreement to US lawmakers as well as friends and allies in the […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2015

ISIS Has the Headlines, But Al-Qaeda Still a Significant Threat, Say Analysts

By Larry Luxner

The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) may have grabbed global attention with its brutal terror tactics, but al-Qaeda is still a grave threat to US interests, two national security analysts said April 2 at the Atlantic Council. “Islamic State, by its actions and its very effective communications strategy, has eclipsed al-Qaeda in the […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 2, 2015

A ‘Good’ Deal with Iran, Says Pickering

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Veteran diplomat cites ‘a lot of advantages’ for the United States A deal announced April 2 limiting Iran’s nuclear program while preventing it from developing a nuclear bomb in exchange for lifting economic sanctions “looks like a very good agreement,” says former US Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering. “My sense is that this is a […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Apr 2, 2015

University Attack Marks Al-Shabaab’s ‘Pivot’ to ISIS

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Bruton says Somali terror group embracing more deadly tactics Al-Shabaab’s deadly April 2 assault against a Kenyan university—the country’s bloodiest attack in 17 years—is a sign that the Somali terrorist group is trying to pivot toward the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), said Atlantic Council analyst Bronywn Bruton. “A schoolyard massacre […]

East Africa Somalia

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