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 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

New Atlanticist

Jun 17, 2013

Deepening Transatlantic Trade: Historic Opportunity or a Failure to Launch?

By Garrett Workman

As President Obama heads to Europe for the G8 summit in Northern Ireland and a state visit to Berlin, the official launch of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations figures prominently on the agenda. Meanwhile, in Brussels, European Union trade ministers are working feverishly to assuage the fears of certain member-states and secure […]

Economy & Business Trade and tariffs

New Atlanticist

Jun 17, 2013

The New Prince of Persia

By Julian Lindley-French

Democritus wrote, “I would rather discover one true cause than gain the Kingdom of Persia”. With the election of the maybe vaguely reform-minded Hassan Rouhani many in the West are again hoping that this new Prince of Persia will also mark a new beginning for Iran. Much of this can be put down to the […]

Iran

New Atlanticist

Jun 16, 2013

MAD About You

By Ellen Tauscher and Igor Ivanov

After a series of setbacks and disappointments during President Barack Obama’s first term, U.S.-Russian political dialogue is finally gaining momentum.

Missile Defense Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 14, 2013

The Third Russian Revolution

By Harlan Ullman

Make no mistake: On the current trajectory, Russia won’t be immune to many of the forces that provoked the so-called colored revolutions in adjacent states and even the misnomered Arab Awakening.

Politics & Diplomacy Russia

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2013

Weak Intelligence Oversight Stems From Citizen Apathy

By James Joyner

The New York Times editorial board complains, “Except for a few leaders and members of the intelligence committees, most lawmakers did not know the government was collecting records on almost every phone call made in the United States or was able to collect anyone’s e-mail messages and Internet chats.”

Intelligence National Security

New Atlanticist

Jun 13, 2013

Beijing and Washington Share Indeterminate Future

By Robert Manning

Now what? The ostensible goal of the Obama-Xi “shirtsleeves summit” was to head off the trajectory of a volatile U.S.-Chinese relationship that appeared to be sliding toward confrontation—and define a new cooperative direction, new understandings and a new framework. In this respect, it was a potentially important but modest beginning.

China Missile Defense

New Atlanticist

Jun 12, 2013

Can the West Afford Not to Act in Syria?

By Ulrich Speck

The civil war in Syria reveals many uncomfortable truths about today’s geopolitics. One of them is that the EU has made little progress on a common foreign policy in the last two decades.

European Union International Organizations

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