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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

Experts React

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.

Markup

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 29, 2014

Ukraine: Is Yanukovych Finished?

By Rajan Menon

For a while it looked as if Ukraine’s embattled president, Viktor Yanukovych, had survived the political tidal wave that followed his decision to mothball the Association Agreement he’d hammered out with the European Union and instead to accept a lifeline from Russia (a $15 billion loan plus a one-third reduction in the price of natural […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jan 27, 2014

As Egypt Burns, Tunisia and Yemen Step Toward Democracy

By New Atlanticist

As Egypt’s three-year-old popular uprising has cycled into new violence and repression, Tunisia and Yemen offer a counterpoint of hope with their tangible steps toward democracy this month, write Stefanie Hausheer and Lara Talverdian of the Atlantic Council. Tunisians approved a constitution “hailed by observers as the most progressive in the region with its guarantees […]

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2014

Turkey’s Troubles May Set Back Kurdish, US Hopes

By Müjge Küçükkeleş and Jeffrey Mankoff

The Turkish government’s mounting domestic challenges, notably from the corruption investigation of senior officials that became public in December, may increase the risk that Prime Minister Erdoğan will be unable to complete a peace process he opened more than a year ago with Turkey’s Kurdish rebels. A failure of that reconciliation effort could increase the […]

Turkey

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2014

Iran Nuclear Deal Opens Doors for Students

By Barbara Slavin

Among the beneficiaries of the interim nuclear agreement with Iran that went into effect this week are Iranian students abroad and the Western educational institutions that are already seeing rising interest from Iran. A senior Barack Obama administration official on Monday told reporters “we’ve committed that up to $400 million of Iran’s own money can […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2014

Some Good News from the Syria Talks

By New Atlanticist

Syria’s opposition movement made a credible start toward establishing itself as a serious interlocutor, one of two positive developments from the opening of UN-sponsored peace talks on the Syrian civil war that are noted by Senior Fellow Frederic C. Hof. The other good news, writes Hof, is that Secretary of State John Kerry made clear […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2014

Getting to Yes on Transatlantic Financial Regulation

By Chris Brummer

As 2014 gets underway, signs of a fraying regulatory relationship between the European Union and the United States seem to be everywhere. The US Federal Reserve’s tough new regulations on foreign banks have spurred the European Commission to threaten retaliation. Progress toward reconciling US and EU rules on derivatives – one of the main causes of the […]

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2014

Pham Discusses South Sudan on VOA

By J. Peter Pham

Africa Center Director J. Peter Pham joins VOA’s “On the Line” program to discuss the political rivalry between South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar, the origins of the current fighting in the country, and the implications of the violence for South Sudan, the region, and the world.

East Africa

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

Share

Issue briefs and reports