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.

Strategic Implications of the Euro Crisis

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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Experts React

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.

Markup

Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Jan 25, 2013

Strategic Implications of the Euro Crisis

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

The crisis of the Eurozone is likely to have profound strategic implications that will impact Europe’s role in the world and the dynamism of the transatlantic alliance. While it is too early to know exactly how the crisis will shape relations between the United States and Europe, the issue deserves the attention of US policymakers […]

European Union
International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jan 24, 2013

NATO RIP

By Harlan Ullman

A recent half-day conference at a major Washington think tank on “the budget and U.S. defense strategy” was most telling for what was dramatically omitted from a wide-ranging discussion. Not until the final question had NATO been once mentioned.

NATO
Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jan 24, 2013

The French Mess in Mali and Libya

By Rajan Menon

If you want an illustration of the law of unintended consequences, look no further than Mali. The drama that’s been unfolding there over the past nine months, and that has taken a new turn in the past week, is a perfect illustration.

France
Libya

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2013

Obama Doctrine, Reagan Doctrine

By James Joyner

As his second term is about to begin, we may finally be seeing the emergence of an Obama Doctrine in foreign policy. It’s one that looks very much like the Reagan Doctrine.

National Security
Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2013

Why a Grand Strategy Is Needed for Obama’s Second Term

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

First terms are about justifying your place in office. Second terms are about justifying your place in history.

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2013

A Security Vacuum in Obama Inaugural Address

By Kurt Volker

In his second inaugural address, President Obama offered these thoughts on winding down an age of conflict: “Enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war.” And, he continued, “We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naive about the dangers we […]

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jan 23, 2013

Euro-Realism: Well Said, Prime Minister!

By Julian Lindley-French

In November 1942 Winston Churchill famously said, “This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning.” For two years I have waited for Prime Minister Cameron to stand up and make a speech that establishes Britain’s Euro-Realist principles and gives the EU […]

European Union
International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jan 22, 2013

Malgeria: Pause, Think, Plan, Act

By Julian Lindley-French

It is being called the “soft underbelly of Europe”, an entire sub-continent from the Maghreb to the Middle East that stretches down to the transitional zone between Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa known as the Sahel region and beyond to Nigeria.

National Security
Sahel

New Atlanticist

Jan 18, 2013

Are Drones Really Working?

By Danya Greenfield

President Obama’s nomination of John Brennan, who currently serves as the White House Senior Advisor for Counterterrorism, should occasion a debate regarding how the United States can best confront, respond to, or mitigate our most pressing security challenges, including the current counterterrorism strategy. In particular, John Brennan’s nomination as CIA director should spur re-evaluation of […]

Drones
National Security

New Atlanticist

Jan 18, 2013

Guiding the US Army War College in an Age of Austerity

By Sarwar Kashmeri

Budget cutbacks, war weariness, a world of stateless actors, against whom conventional warfare seems to achieve little. These are the strategic realities faced by the new commandant of the US Army War College. MG Tony Cucolo III discusses his challenges with Sarwar Kashmeri, senior fellow, Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security and adjunct professor, Norwich […]

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