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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Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

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Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Dec 4, 2014

The Demise of South Stream

By Richard Morningstar

Russia’s Planned Pipeline to Southeast Europe Was Doomed from the Start While the timing of President Vladimir Putin’s abandonment of the South Stream gas pipeline this week was surprising, its demise was inevitable from the start.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Dec 4, 2014

Ukraine News Roundup | December 4

By Irena Chalupa

It’s Not Just Ukraine: Putin Has the Whole Region Cornered via Politico Pifer: Congress Should OK Arms for Ukraine, but Not Sanctions on Russia via The Hill Ukrainian Journalists Oppose Kyiv’s New Information Ministry via RFE-RL Video: Yale Historian Tim Snyder on Ukraine and Us via Chicago Humanities Festival EuroMaidan One Year Later via Ukrainian Media Crisis Center Anne Applebaum: How Putin and His […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Dec 4, 2014

Boko Haram Steps Up Offensive as Nigeria Halts US Military Training Program

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Boko Haram, the African militant group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) over the summer, appears to have borrowed a page from the jihadists’ playbook as it unleashes a deadly wave of attacks across northern Nigeria in its quest to carve out an Islamic state rooted in Shariah law.

Nigeria

New Atlanticist

Dec 3, 2014

Iran Nuclear Deal Could Come Before July, Analysts Say

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Iran and six Western powers could reach a deal on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program well before the new July 1 deadline, experts told the Atlantic Council on December 2. The P5+1 — the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany — and Iran last month extended their self-imposed November 24 […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Dec 2, 2014

National Intelligence Council Chairman Calls for More Long-Term Intelligence Work

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Russia’s aggressive posture in its neighborhood is an “interesting inflection point in global politics,” much like the fall of the Soviet Union in December of 1991 and al Qaeda’s attack on the US on September 11, 2001, Gregory F. Treverton, chairman of the US National Intelligence Council, told the Atlantic Council. “The first time around […]

Intelligence National Security

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2014

Obama Likely to Seek a ‘Wartime’ Defense Secretary

By New Atlanticist

Atlantic Council’s Barry Pavel: Pentagon Priorities Have Changed Since Hagel Was Chosen In the days since Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel resigned, two prominent candidates to replace him have said publicly they will not do so. They are former Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy and Rhode Island Democratic Senator Jack Reed. As President Barack Obama seeks […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2014

The Cheapening of Oil and What It Means

By New Atlanticist

Atlantic Council’s Manning: US May Benefit, But Must Review Its Strategy, in a New World of ‘Peak Demand’ World oil prices have slipped again (to about $73 a barrel) after the global cartel, OPEC, declined on November 27 to cut the amount of crude petroleum its members pump into the planet’s economy. Instead, OPEC followed […]

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Nov 26, 2014

How France Will Be a Test of Europe’s Ability to Enforce Its Budget Rules

By Andrea Montanino

European Union Aims to Put New Muscle into Limiting Deficits; Will it Succeed? Since 2009, France’s state budget has been breaking the rules. It has been exceeding the European Union’s limit on the size of deficits, which are limited (under the Maastricht Treaty) to 3 percent of gross domestic product unless there are exceptional circumstances. Once […]

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Nov 26, 2014

Ukraine News Roundup | November 26

By Jim Rupert

Moldova Votes on Sunday: Will Russia Win That Election? Via Bloomberg Obama Should Say It Clearly: Russia Has Invaded Ukraine via Philadelphia Inquirer Merkel Secretly Goes One-On-One with Putin, Hits a Dead-End via Reuters Amid Ukraine’s Crisis, Its High-Tech Industry Is Booming via Forbes Putin Youth: The Young Russians Who See the President as a Father via Newsweek

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2014

An Iran Nuclear Deal: Better Than Nothing if We Get It, But Not a Resolution

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Atlantic Council’s Matthew Kroenig on the Extension of Nonproliferation Talks As Iran and six other nations announced a seven-month extension of their effort to reach a deal to limit the Iranian nuclear program, the Atlantic Council’s Matthew Kroenig said Iran will pose a nonproliferation threat even if a deal is struck. Kroenig, a nonresident senior […]

Iran

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