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.

Museum Attack Puts Spotlight on Tunisia’s Security Challenges

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

Mar 18, 2015

Museum Attack Puts Spotlight on Tunisia’s Security Challenges

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Terrorist rampage in Tunis may force government to shift focus, says Atlantic Council’s Mezran Tunisia’s new government may be forced to clamp down on security following the March 18 terrorist attack on a prominent museum in the heart of Tunis. This could jeopardize the country’s nascent political process, says Atlantic Council analyst Karim Mezran. “If […]

Libya North Africa

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2015

Netanyahu, Obama Will Have to Learn to Live With Each Other

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Prime Minister’s election victory could cost Israel US diplomatic cover at United Nations, says Tamary of Israel’s Channel 10 News The Obama administration may refuse to protect Israel at the United Nations Security Council if Benjamin Netanyahu forms a narrow right-wing coalition government. But the White House would find it much harder to do so […]

Israel

New Atlanticist

Mar 17, 2015

Why Has the West Forgotten About Crimea?

By Alina Polyakova

One year after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in a brazen act that violated international treaties and rewrote Europe’s borders for the first time since World War II, Western governments and the media have largely forgotten the peninsula’s plight. In Russia, however, that land grab is far from forgotten. Crimea annexation day will be celebrated […]

Europe & Eurasia Russia

New Atlanticist

Mar 17, 2015

Israel Votes: Netanyahu’s Fate Hangs in the Balance

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Prime Minister’s Re-Election Would Further Strain US Ties, Says Israeli Analyst Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future hangs in the balance as millions of Israelis vote March 17 in an election that most polls suggest is too close to call. In a clear attempt to rally his right-wing base, Netanyahu announced on the eve […]

Israel

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2015

Strange Bedfellows: Saudi Arabia, Israel Oppose Iran Nuclear Deal for Different Reasons

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Saudis worry about regional power, Israelis about an ‘existential threat,’ say analysts Saudi Arabia and Israel find themselves in the same camp as opponents of a nuclear deal with Iran, but the Sunni kingdom and Jewish state have very different reasons for their opposition. Israelis are concerned mainly with a nuclear-armed Iran, while the Saudis […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2015

US Foreign Policy Falls Victim to Partisan Gridlock Ahead of 2016 Elections

By Larry Luxner

Atlantic Council launches strategy initiative to boost Washington’s global influence With the 2016 presidential elections a little over a year and a half away, analysts agree that the partisan bitterness consuming Washington is hurting US leadership on the world stage. That bitterness reached a new low in March when a group of 47 Republican senators […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 12, 2015

‘Global Solution’ Needed to Fight Climate Change, Says Kerry

By Ashish Kumar Sen

‘There is no Planet B’: In Atlantic Council address, Secretary turns up heat on global warming deniers Climate change is “one of the biggest threats” facing the Earth today, and anything less than a “global solution” to fight it will not work, US Secretary of State John F. Kerry said March 12. In an impassioned […]

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Mar 11, 2015

Rights and Wrongs: US Law Hurting Ties, Says Nigerian Official

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Leahy amendment curbs US military aid to foreign troops accused of atrocities A US law that bans the sale of weapons to foreign forces accused of human rights violations is “hindering” cooperation between the United States and Nigeria, even as Abuja wages war against Boko Haram militants, a top Nigerian intelligence official said March 11. […]

Nigeria Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 11, 2015

US Sanctions will Produce More Repression in Venezuela

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council analysts say Maduro will further try to shift focus from economy to ‘imperialist threat’ The Obama administration’s decision to declare Venezuela a national security threat and slap sanctions on seven officials from the oil-rich nation gives President Nicolás Maduro another excuse to blame the United States for his country’s economic plight, according to […]

Venezuela

New Atlanticist

Mar 10, 2015

How will a €1.1 trillion bid to energize the eurozone economy work?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

QE benefits will depend on ‘many factors exogenous to monetary policy,’ says Atlantic Council’s Roscini The European Central Bank (ECB)’s €1.1 trillion attempt to energize the eurozone economy will have several positive effects, but these will depend on “many factors exogenous to monetary policy,” says the Atlantic Council’s Dante Roscini. The ECB this week began […]

European Union International Organizations

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