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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New Atlanticist

Jun 21, 2013

C-Castration

By Julian Lindley-French

Winston Churchill once famously said, “We can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all the other possibilities”. Sadly, having just arrived in Washington I am not so sure. Dear old Johnny Yank seems to have invented an entirely new form of non-government called ’C-Castration’, or something such. Now, […]

Economy & Business
Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Jun 20, 2013

Toward a Global Missile Defense Architecture

By Ian Brzezinski

The increasing prevalence of ballistic missiles has been highlighted by the latest tensions with North Korea, the ongoing confrontation with Iran, and Syria’s savage civil war. Approximately thirty countries are now armed with ballistic missiles. This number will grow, as will the range, accuracy, and lethality of the ballistic missiles available to friend and foe […]

Missile Defense
Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jun 20, 2013

The Fatal Flaws of R2P

By Rajan Menon

It is now a commonplace belief that a worldwide diffusion of human rights norms occurred following the Cold War, creating a consensus favoring humanitarian intervention. The cachet acquired by the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) is proffered as proof of this proposition. This is wishful thinking.

International Organizations
Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2013

A New Declaration of Interdependence

By Frederick Kempe and Aart De Geus

On July 4, 1962, U.S. president John F. Kennedy declared “that the United States will be ready for a Declaration of Interdependence, that we will be prepared to discuss with a united Europe the ways and means of forming a concrete Atlantic partnership, a mutually beneficial partnership between the new union now emerging in Europe […]

Economy & Business
Trade and tariffs

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2013

When It Comes to Trade, Transatlantic Values Have Their Limits

By Sabine Muscat

Whenever American and European politicians and members of their business communities talk about their plans for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Agreement (TTIP), they wax lyrical about an economic zone consisting of Western democracies. The message to their citizens sounds compelling: “We share the same values, and we will now set standards for the rest […]

Economy & Business
European Union

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2013

Conflict and Opportunity on the Nile

By Peter Pham

Last week, Ethiopia’s parliament unanimously ratified a treaty with five of its neighbors that opens the way for broad regional cooperation on the use of the waters of the Nile River. In response, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, whose government was not part of the pact, angrily declared that “all options are open,” implying that force […]

Energy & Environment
Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2013

Obama’s Confusing Syria Calculus

By Rajan Menon

There’s something morally perplexing about President Obama’s stance on the war in Syria. It’s not any clearer in its strategic logic.

Security & Defense
Syria

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2013

Dancing in the Streets

By Barbara Slavin

Finally, Iranians got the chance to party in the streets. The solid election victory on Friday of the least hard-line candidate — moderate cleric and former nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani — touched off spontaneous celebrations in the major squares and avenues of Tehran that authorities did not try to stop.

Iran
Turkey

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2013

Obama Should Call for German Leadership

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

President Barack Obama should use his speech tomorrow at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate to call for more active, confident German leadership of the European Union—which is needed if the continent is to rise above its present political and economic crisis. As Europe’s largest trading, investment and security partner, the United States has a strong interest in […]

Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 17, 2013

The G8 Needs a Standing Agenda: Competitiveness

By Nicholas Dungan

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, is having a bit of a romp. Last year, the United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and celebrated Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee. This year, Britain holds the rotating presidency of the G8, the high point of which is the heads of government meeting at Loch Erne in […]

Economy & Business
Trade and tariffs

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