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

May 28, 2013

Crisis in the Sahel: Trafficking

By Rudolph Atallah

Organized crime—especially various forms of smuggling and narco-trafficking—is the lifeblood of the vast under-governed expanse of the Sahara. It is within this largely decentralized and politically corrupt milieu that terrorists and criminals work together to access weapons and money to sustain their symbiotic operations.

Africa South & Central Africa

New Atlanticist

May 28, 2013

Win Wars Not Battles

By Harlan Ullman

If there is one strategic weakness or Achilles’ heel in U.S. geostrategic thinking, it is a fixation with winning battles and not winning wars. The North Vietnamese famously crowed, “America won every battle and lost the war.” In Afghanistan and Iraq four decades later, the same critique applied. America and the coalition won virtually every […]

Security & Defense United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2013

Crisis in the Sahel: Transnational Terrorism

By Rudolph Atallah

While some suggest the threats in the Sahara and Sahel are local or regional in scope, their impact is global. Even a cursory overview of the involvement of North Africans as itinerate jihadists linked to al-Qaeda demonstrates this.

Africa

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2013

Overcoming Obstacles to Russia-West Cooperation

By Julian Lindley-French

The Moscow River flows through this ancient seat of Russian power like a timeless reminder of a timeless country and its seemingly endless space. The Moscow European Security Conference at which I yesterday spoke is a jewel in the crown of Russia’s Ministry of Defense. Now, I am no Russophobe. Indeed, as a student of Russian history […]

Missile Defense Russia

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2013

Crisis in the Sahel: Mali Terrorism Threat Growing

By Rudolph Atallah

Over the past year, things have escalated dramatically in Mali, causing further instability in the Sahara and the Sahel. Many skeptics underestimated the Islamist threat and claimed that the Saharan branch of Al-Qaeda in the Magreb (AQIM) was only focused on kidnappings for ransom and illicit trade, rather than jihadist activities.

National Security Sahel

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2013

Mapping a New Era for Latin America, the United States, and Europe

By Gabriel Sanchez Zinny

President Obama’s trip to Mexico and Costa Rica has put Latin America back at the center of Washington’s foreign policy debate, for a few days at least. The visit comes at a time when Secretary of State John Kerry has not yet visited the region nor given any important speech on Latin American affairs. It […]

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2013

Crisis in the Sahel: Overview

By Rudolph Atallah

North Africa and the intertwined Sahel, from Egypt to Mauritania, is a region that has undergone profound and destabilizing political and social change in the last several years, especially since the “Arab Spring” of 2011. Nascent political systems, newly empowered non-state actors, and underlying structural problems in the region contribute to an increasingly volatile mix, […]

National Security North Africa

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2013

Three Benghazi Myths

By R. Nicholas Burns

The Benghazi controversy’s return to Washington’s raging partisan wars continues to portray our political culture at its worst.

Libya National Security

New Atlanticist

May 20, 2013

Hollande’s Europe

By Julian Lindley-French

“It is my responsibility as a leader of a founder member of the European Union…to pull Europe out of this torpor that has gripped it, and to reduce people’s disenchantment with it. If Europe stays in the state it is in now, it could be the end of the project.” Europe owes French President Francois Hollande a […]

European Union France

New Atlanticist

May 17, 2013

Dambusters

By Julian Lindley-French

All of we Brits of a certain age remember the film. Richard Todd coolly leading his elite squadron of Lancaster bombers into attack the Mohne, Eder, and Sorpe dams. British stiff-upper lip and brilliant “bouncing bomb” technology combining against the backdrop of a stirring but peculiarly 1950s soundtrack to deal the Nazis a crippling blow. Seventy years […]

United Kingdom

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