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
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

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New Atlanticist

Sep 6, 2012

Why Anglo-Polish Relations Need a Reset

By Julian Lindley-French

They call it the ‘Davos of the East’, the Krynica Economic Forum. It must be a mark of Europe’s desperate economic straits that I have been invited to speak at this huge economics conference. Thankfully, the question posed by my old friend Andrew Michta, Director of the German Marshall Fund Warsaw was closer to home; […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Sep 5, 2012

America’s Euro Fatigue

By Stanley Sloan

At a time when the United States and all its allies are looking at years of reduced resources for all kinds of discretionary government spending, including defense, American interest and faith in the transatlantic alliance seems to be fading fast. Is this a sign of permanent decline in the sense of “Atlantic community,” or is it […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Sep 5, 2012

What Roosevelt Would Do in the South China Sea

By James Clad and Robert Manning

Planting flags on islets, declaring cities where there are too few residents to fill a restaurant, and huffing and puffing over uninhabited rocks are acts more suited to a Gilbert and Sullivan farce than to nations in the 21st century. Absurdities aside, the tensions in the South China Sea could shape the balance of power […]

China

New Atlanticist

Sep 4, 2012

An Emerging Transatlantic Rift on Energy?

By David Koranyi

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney recently unveiled his energy plans for the United States, which promises to fulfill the country’s four-decades’-old dream of energy independence. It has the potential to do so. But the price could ultimately be high: a breakdown in global climate negotiations and a rift in relations with Europe.

Energy & Environment Energy Markets & Governance

New Atlanticist

Sep 4, 2012

The Rise of Afghan Fratricide

By Joshua Foust

The number of ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) soldiers killed by their Afghan counterparts has risen precipitously this year. So-called “green on blue” attacks have killed 42 soldiers, more than the 35 killed last year and twice as many as were killed in 2010. Officials are scrambling to figure out why.

Afghanistan International Security Assistance Force

New Atlanticist

Sep 1, 2012

Europe’s September Phoenix

By Fran Burwell and Nicholas Dungan

As European leaders return to work after their summer holidays, they will find many of the same problems they left behind: the sovereign debt crisis, a vulnerable banking system and an unreconciled division over austerity vs growth. Amid the doom and gloom, however, it is worth pausing to celebrate how far Europe has come.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 31, 2012

Afghanistan: An Allotment in a Jungle

By Julian Lindley-French

Nothing makes my blood boil more than recently retired senior government officials suddenly changing their story once retired. Earlier this year I was excoriated for suggesting that our troops were dying in Afghanistan for want of a meaningful political strategy and to avoid the political embarrassment of leaders. Yesterday, Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles, London’s former ‘man […]

Afghanistan Russia

New Atlanticist

Aug 31, 2012

How Much Is Enough? – Part II

By Harlan Ullman

Given that the United States’ latest defense strategy was crafted earlier this year accounting for a nearly $490 billion defense cut over the next 10 years, if the Pentagon were to undertake a new strategic review, how might it go about accomplishing one, assuming the huge initial resistance against such an effort could be overcome?

New Atlanticist

Aug 30, 2012

How Romney Can Win the Foreign Policy Debate

By R. Nicholas Burns

As Mitt Romney accepts the Republican presidential nomination to run against Barack Obama, his first test is to explain how he can revive the American economy and put people back to work — the dominant issue in the election. But Romney also faces a second test — how will he lead the world’s most powerful […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Aug 30, 2012

Revelations on the Killing of Osama bin Laden

By Robert Bracknell

On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported a purported landslide revelation in the new book “No Easy Day,” which is taking Washington by storm (SEAL book depicts Osama bin Laden shot on sight in hallway, contradicting original account, Washington Post, August 29).

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