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.

Juanes Honored for Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership

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

Apr 30, 2013

Juanes Honored for Distinguished Humanitarian Leadership

By Rachel Weatherly

With six solo albums to his credit and multi-platinum sales of more than 16 million copies, Juanes is the world’s leading all-Spanish language rock artist. The multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winner is also frequently recognized as one of the Spanish-speaking world’s leading social media voices with an online following of more than 12 […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 30, 2013

Tony Bennett Honored for Distinguised Artistic Leadership

By Rachel Weatherly

Tony Bennett is an artist who moves the hearts and touches the souls of audiences. He is not just the singer’s singer, but also an international treasure honored by the United Nations with its Citizen of the World award, which aptly describes the scope of his accomplishments.

New Atlanticist

Apr 29, 2013

Obama Should Remember Rwanda as He Weighs Action in Syria

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

The Rwanda genocide began in April 1994; within a few weeks, nongovernmental organizations there were estimating that 100,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been massacred. Yet two months later, Reuters correspondent Alan Elsner and State Department spokeswoman Christine Shelly had an infamous exchange: Elsner: “How would you describe the events taking place in Rwanda?” Shelly: […]

Syria
United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2013

Tax and Transparency: an Agenda for the G8

By Paul Collier

In recent years international lawyers and accountants have built a web of corporate opacity which has enabled tax avoidance and corruption on an alarming scale. Private financial wealth sitting in tax havens has grown to around $21 trillion, of which $9 trillion is from developing countries. Some miniscule jurisdictions, such as the Cayman Islands, have […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2013

Europe’s Crumple Zone

By Julian Lindley-French

On Wednesday I had the privilege of providing evidence to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee at its first meeting to consider the 2015 British Strategic Security and Defence Review alongside Lord Hennessy and Major-General Mungo Melvin. Perhaps the most important contribution I made was to suggest to collected British politicians of all shades that […]

Economy & Business
United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2013

Africa’s Global Advantage

By Adrienne Chuck

Last week, finance ministers and central bankers from around the world gathered in Washington for the World Bank and International Monetary Fund semi-annual spring meetings to promote sustainable and equitable growth. Six years after the beginning of the global financial crisis, prospects for a strong recovery are still not optimistic; conversations for the most part […]

Africa
Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2013

Why Terrorism is Different

By James Joyner

In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, several commentators have asked why we label some acts of mass violence “terrorism” while others are considered ordinary crime. Why do we treat those two so very differently, despite the latter being responsible for far more American deaths?

National Security
Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2013

America’s Historical Amnesia

By Harlan Ullman

Karl Marx mused that history first appears as tragedy and then as farce. That may not apply to the United States, as Americans are too often amnesia-prone when it comes to history. Americans’ ability to ignore or forget history is legion. Three cases underscore this point.

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2013

Ritual NATO Skepticism

By Stephen M. Saideman

The funny thing about writing a book on NATO and Afghanistan that is pretty critical of the alliance’s performance is that I still end up being a NATO defender. How so?

NATO
NATO Partnerships

New Atlanticist

Apr 23, 2013

5 More Questions for Henrik Liljegren

By James Joyner

Henrik Liljegren, an Atlantic Council board member, served 42 years in Sweden’s diplomatic corps, including stints as Ambassador to the United States, Turkey, East Germany, and Belgium. In June 2009, we discussed the Russia “Reset” and the political climate in Turkey. Today, I had the opportunity to revisit these issues with him.

Russia
Turkey

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