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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.

To Bolster Ukraine, Help Modernize its Arms Industry

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.

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To Bolster Ukraine, Help Modernize its Arms Industry

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

To Bolster Ukraine, Help Modernize its Arms Industry

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 10, 2014

To Bolster Ukraine, Help Modernize its Arms Industry

By James Hasik

A Better Army and Economy Will Help Kyiv Stay Independent of Moscow As the United States and NATO search for the right ways to oppose Russia’s seizure from Ukraine of the Crimean Peninsula, policymakers should note a surprising industrial fact: Ukraine is the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, having sold more than $1.3 billion in weapons […]

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 8, 2014

US Needs New Strategy for Syria

By Barbara Slavin

 Reports that UN special envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is considering resigning should not surprise anyone. Two rounds of “peace talks” in Geneva between the Syrian regime and émigré opposition figures produced no progress toward a political solution of the conflict, which this month marks a third grim anniversary.

Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 8, 2014

Sweden and America Link Arms on Development Assistance

By Mark Brzezinski and Bjorn Lyrvall

If we asked a random sample of people what the world of 2030 might look like, what sorts of answers would we get? Amid predictions of advances in medicine, transportation and communications technology, we would no doubt expect some dire hypothetical scenarios: If population growth continues at current rates, if the gap in income equality […]

Northern Europe United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Mar 6, 2014

Is Crimea Preparing to Exit Ukraine?

By Rajan Menon

The Crimean parliament has voted to organize a referendum on March 16 if the Russian government — basically Putin — agrees that the territory is eligible to become part of the Russian Federation and to secede from Ukraine. But here’s the problem:

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 6, 2014

Break Up in the Gulf

By Bilal Y. Saab

On March 5, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain announced that they had withdrawn their ambassadors from Qatar, claiming that Doha had been violating a clause in the Gulf Cooperation Council charter banning interference in the domestic affairs of fellow GCC members. The decision, unprecedented in the GCC’s history, hints at significant […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 6, 2014

What Ukraine’s Crisis Means for the Syrian War

By New Atlanticist

Edward Joseph, at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies, notes the uncertainty over Russian intentions in Syria, and over the effect of of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis on Moscow’s role in Syria. He writes that now is the time for US diplomacy to test Russia on Syria with a new diplomatic effort there. An excerpt […]

Syria Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 6, 2014

How to Save the Shale Revolution

By Robert A. Manning

Enlightened state regulators, a coalition of the willing, and continued improvements in technology together hold promise for elevating best practices around fracking to the status of new norms. “We’re in the first inning of a nine-inning game on the shale revolution in the United States,” Conoco CEO Ryan Lance recently boldly predicted. Given the dramatic impact […]

Energy & Environment Oil and Gas

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2014

Moldova’s Prime Minister: We Still Must Build Domestic Consensus for Our European Future

By New Atlanticist

As Moldova prepares (along with Georgia) to sign trade and cooperation agreements with the European Union by September, both countries face military and economic pressure from Russia to reverse course and instead join the Russian-led Customs Union that Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to establish among states of the former Soviet Union.  In an interview […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2014

Judy Asks: Will Putin Finally Wake Up Europe?

By Judy Dempsey

Every week a selection of leading experts answer a new question from Judy Dempsey, nonresident senior associate at Carnegie Europe and editor-on-chief of Strategic Europe, on the foreign and security policy challenges shaping Europe’s role in the world. This week the roster of experts included the Council’s Ian Brzezinski and Damon Wilson.

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2014

US Must Pull Germany Into Helping Lead NATO Against Russia

By Erik Brattberg

If Russia pursues and consolidates its armed seizure of Ukrainian territory in Crimea, the US and NATO have no politically viable option for reversing that advance by military force. What the West can do, however, is too modify Moscow’s calculations, making it more costly for Putin to sustain his aggressive effort to hold Ukraine within […]

Germany Russia
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