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.

Iran and US Economy Remain Key Questions for Obama

New Atlanticist
Mar 6, 2025

How European leaders are responding to Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Europe

From London and Berlin to Paris and Brussels, European leaders have taken several notable steps this week on security. This follows the blow-up between the Ukrainian and US presidents on February 28.

New Atlanticist
Feb 26, 2025

Why the US should not lift sanctions against Russia

By
Charles Lichfield

Sanctions are having an unmistakable effect, albeit below the inflated expectations of many in the West in early 2022. Lifting them now would be a mistake.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist
Mar 5, 2025

The Egyptian plan for postwar Gaza is a good starting point—but it needs changes

By
Thomas S. Warrick

While many obstacles remain, the Egyptian proposal could form the starting point for negotiations over a workable plan for postwar Gaza.

Conflict
Crisis Management

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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.

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

Mar 20, 2013

Iran and US Economy Remain Key Questions for Obama

By Harlan Ullman

As U.S. President Barack Obama arrives in Israel for his first state visit, clearly Iran will dominate the agenda along with discussions over Syria, the Arab Spring and even the Palestinian issue (although Israeli settlements in occupied territories may be missing in action as too politically sensitive).

Iran

New Atlanticist

Mar 20, 2013

Obama’s Cyberwarfare Strategy Will Backfire

By Jason Healey

America’s generals and spymasters have decided they can secure a better future in cyberspace through, what else, covert warfare, preemptive attacks, and clandestine intelligence. Our rivals are indeed seeking to harm U.S. interests and it is perfectly within the president’s purview to use these tools in response. Yet this is an unwise policy that will […]

Cybersecurity National Security

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2013

America’s Losing Streak

By James Joyner

As we approach the tenth anniversary of the American invasion of Iraq on March 20, it’s worth reflecting on the fact that it has been nearly seventy years since America’s last successful major war.

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2013

Who Will Pay for Cyprus?

By Julian Lindley-French

In 1984 George Orwell wrote, “Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind, simultaneously, and accepting both of them.” I was reminded of doublethink (to that add double-speak) watching Europe’s politicians and Eurocrats dance on the head of a political pin to distance themselves from the so-called ‘one-off’ Deposit Tax Levy […]

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2013

Europe’s Work Is Far From Over

By Lawrence Summers

Europe’s economic situation is viewed with far less concern than was the case six, 12 or 18 months ago. Policymakers in Europe far prefer engaging the United States on a possible trade and investment agreement to more discussion on financial stability and growth. However, misplaced confidence can be dangerous if it reduces pressure for necessary […]

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2013

The Saga of US-Poland Missile Defense Cooperation

By Ian Brzezinski

Missile defense cooperation stands among the most prominent dimensions of the strategic relationship between the United States and Poland. Both Washington and Warsaw have been strong advocates of missile defense within NATO. Poland has enthusiastically accepted US requests to base missile interceptors on its territory, and recently made the acquisition of air and missile defense capability its […]

Missile Defense Poland

New Atlanticist

Mar 18, 2013

Overcoming the Pitfalls of Yemen’s National Dialogue

By Danya Greenfield

Among the urban elite and diplomatic community in Sanaa, all eyes will turn to the launch of the long-awaited National Dialogue Conference today, a key component of the transition plan agreed upon in November 2011 that ushered out former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in exchange for full immunity. The good news about the internationally-backed agreement […]

Yemen

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2013

Power, Prejudice, and Paranoia

By Julian Lindley-French

“The ides of March have come” says Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Standing in the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Square Tuesday, watching on a big, incongruous screen the princes of the Roman Universal Church file into mass I was struck by the power of this moment when a new pope is chosen to lead the world’s 1.3 billion […]

China Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2013

A Roadmap for Negotiating with Iran

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

It is still early in the second term of the Obama administration, and as with the beginning of all presidential terms, hope springs eternal in political circles that longstanding obstacles to policy progress will be swept away. In that spirit, a host of commentators are calling for the United States and Iran to make a […]

Elections Iran

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2013

Transatlantic Confessions

By Stanley R. Sloan

Are transatlantic relations in another crisis, perhaps a slow rolling one, or are we at the opening of a new and more promising era for the United States, Canada, and their European partners? Decisions on both sides of the Atlantic in the next few years will determine the fate of America’s most important alliance.

Economy & Business NATO

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