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

Jan 22, 2014

Ukraine: A Dire Scenario

By Adrian Karatnycky

“Ukraine’s fate will be decided in the coming weeks. If a dictatorship triumphs in Kyiv, it will markedly set back Europe’s hopes of a significantly enlarged European democratic space.” Every Sunday for the past eight weeks, several hundred thousand Ukrainians have gathered in Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square) to protest government policies. Initially, in late […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2014

Syria Talks Could Clarify an Alternative to Assad

By New Atlanticist

The “Geneva II” peace talks on Syria that begin this week under UN auspices have “absolutely zero” chance of achieving their formal goal – the creation of a transition to a new government – according to Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof. But, Hof told reporters in a briefing at the Council, the talks […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2014

Assad Goes into Geneva with the Upper Hand

By Rajan Menon

It would certainly be wonderful if Wednesday’s peace conference in Geneva were to result in some kind of blueprint, however fragile, for winding down a Syrian civil war that is now approaching the three-year mark. The carnage has consumed some 130,000 lives — at least half of them civilians — turned 2.4 million Syrians into […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jan 20, 2014

Ukrainian Voices: A Dangerous Game Change

By Jim Rupert

The political conflict in Ukraine has deepened since January 16, when the government of President Viktor Yanukovych pushed new laws through parliament to outlaw the public protests that have challenged Yanukovych’s rule since November. The laws also criminalize “extremist” criticism of the government and tighten rules on independent organizations of the country’s vibrant civil society.

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jan 20, 2014

Swapping Sovereignty

By Bilal Y. Saab

Iran and UAE Make a Deal? On January 15, Defense News, an online and print military newspaper, reported that Iran and the United Arab Emirates had reached an agreement on the disputed islands of Abu Musa and Greater and Lesser Tunbs. The report quoted an unnamed high-level UAE source, who said that although a deal on Abu […]

Iran The Gulf

New Atlanticist

Jan 17, 2014

Egypt’s Constitutional Vote: Not a Free Pass for Army Rule

By New Atlanticist

Last week’s constitutional referendum in Egypt yielded a lop-sided result that recalls the non-democratic elections of the decades before the Arab Spring of 2011. Election officials say 98 percent of voters approved the constitution proposed by the military-backed government. Egyptian lawyer Hafsa Halawa cautions against a conventional wisdom that sees this result as a success […]

North Africa Political Reform

New Atlanticist

Jan 16, 2014

To Solve Syria, First Get Assad to Accept UN Aid Workers

By James Rupert

The US and its allies must address their Syria policies to the humanitarian catastrophe of millions of Syrians uprooted or brutalized by the civil war there – and must do it for reasons of realpolitik as well as humanitarianism, according to Atlantic Council Senior Fellow Frederic Hof, a former State Department advisor on Syria. As […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jan 16, 2014

The Trouble with China

By Nicholas Burns

It’s the Responsibility of the US to Prevent War Over East China Sea Islands As the White House struggles to cope with a burning Middle East, another vital challenge is arising on the far horizon — China is flexing its muscles with real consequences for America’s future in Asia. In the East China Sea, the […]

China

New Atlanticist

Jan 16, 2014

How the Voters of Catalonia May Change Europe

By Paul R. Williams and Roushani Mansoor

Today’s vote by the legislature of the Spanish region of Catalonia to formally petition Spain’s government to authorize a referendum on Catalonian independence is a reminder that Europe will face a challenge this year for which it seems unready. Even though Spain has firmly opposed the referendum, the Catalonians are sure to press ahead. This […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union

New Atlanticist

Jan 15, 2014

Keep Onus on Iran to Implement Nuclear Accord

By Barbara Slavin

This week’s announcement that the nuclear deal reached with Iran in late November is going to be implemented starting January 20 is welcome news on a number of fronts. It marks the first time in a decade that Iran will pause its progress toward a nuclear weapons capability. In return for modest sanctions relief, the Islamic […]

Iran

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