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.

Security Force Assistance: It’s Not Just for Weak States

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

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

Feb 22, 2013

Security Force Assistance: It’s Not Just for Weak States

By Derek Reveron

Doctrinally, security force assistance (SFA) is a set of activities to develop the capacity and capabilities of foreign security forces and their supporting institutions. We often associate SFA with weak states, where the United States enables partner countries such as Pakistan, Colombia, and Yemen to combat challenges that threaten their own security and regional stability.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 21, 2013

The Pyongyang Persian Pickle

By Harlan Ullman

In English slang, “pickle” means a bad situation or a state of disorder. The provenance is Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.” And pickle well applies to the nuclear ambitions of North Korea, Iran and U.S. policy.

Korea Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Feb 21, 2013

Israel Not Pushing Obama to Arm Syrian Rebels

By Barbara Slavin

A lack of Israeli pressure for the U.S. to intervene and Israel’s ability to go after sensitive targets in Syria on its own are factors in the Barack Obama administration’s reluctance to get more deeply involved in the Syrian civil war. Despite reports that the U.S. may be reconsidering its rejection of calls to arm […]

New Atlanticist

Feb 20, 2013

Obama’s Chance for a Legacy

By Frederick Kempe

President Barack Obama devoted just one sentence in last week’s State of the Union address to call for a new transatlantic trade and investment deal. However, if negotiated with sufficient ambition and presidential engagement, it is Obama’s best chance yet at leaving a positive foreign policy legacy.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 15, 2013

Libya Must Be Stabilized

By Jason Pack and Karim Mezran

From Cairo on the Nile to Tunis on the Mediterranean, a political vacuum has descended across North Africa. The Arab Spring ushered in new freedoms, but it also weakened existing state structures and unleashed a cultural and political free-for-all, favorable to mobilization, assassinations and propagation of extremist ideology. The region’s newly elected governments are rapidly […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Feb 15, 2013

Is China Choking on Success?

By Robert A. Manning

A popular app on smartphones in Beijing is the US Embassy’s Air Quality Index measurement. No wonder: Until last year, even as the air in China’s capitol has increasingly come to resemble that of an airport smoking area, its ruling elite have refused to make public its air-quality levels or even admit a problem.

China Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Feb 14, 2013

Drones and the Law: Restoring Checks and Balances

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

The Department of Justice has recently released a white paper detailing what it believes to be the scope of the president’s authority to kill Americans suspected of being members of al Qaeda—killings that are usually conducted via drones. The white paper argues that the killing of such suspects does not violate due process or the […]

Drones Intelligence

New Atlanticist

Feb 14, 2013

Beyond Budgets: Legacies Impacting American Defense Policy

By Derek Reveron

In spite of more than a decade of combat operations, looming budget reductions, and a variety of social changes, the military remains a powerful tool for American presidents and they have not been loathe to use it. The military’s size, technology, equipment, and remarkable capabilities allow presidents to defend America and also to support friends, […]

National Security Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2013

Time to Pivot Back to Europe

By Harlan Ullman

Last year, the Obama administration released its latest strategic guidance for the Pentagon. The lead headline read “U.S. pivots to Asia.”

Europe & Eurasia NATO

New Atlanticist

Feb 13, 2013

When Will NATO Get its Nobel?

By Julian Lindley-French

The citation that announced the awarding of the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union last October stated, “The union and its forerunners have for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe.”

European Union International Organizations

Share

Issue briefs and reports