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
Jul 29, 2025

The Russia pressure menu: Options to convince Putin to negotiate on Ukraine

As the US president cuts his deadline for Russia to ten days, there are several options for him to increase pressure on Moscow to pursue peace.

New Atlanticist
Jul 24, 2025

Dispatch from Manila: A lesson in calling out Chinese maritime aggression

By
Markus Garlauskas, Philip W. Yu

As the Philippines has focused more on Chinese threats to itself, Manila also seems increasingly inclined to see its own security as connected to that of the broader region.

China
Indo-Pacific

New Atlanticist
Jul 1, 2025

The US must enforce sanctions to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program

By
Kimberly Donovan

To ensure that Tehran cannot get its hands on the financial resources it would need to rebuild its nuclear program, Iran sanctions enforcement should start with China.

Economic Sanctions
Iran

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

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.

Content

Europe After The Vote

Jun 21, 2012

Post-Electoral Greece

By Matthew Bryza

While markets in Europe and the United States breathed a collective sigh of relief with the victory of the sober Antonis Samaras and his New Democracy Party in last Sunday’s Greek parliamentary elections, the absence of a substantial market rally immediately thereafter reflected the seriousness of the work that lies ahead. Greece may have dodged […]

Elections Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Jun 21, 2012

The Politics of Banking

By Ben Carliner

Jose Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, pretty much summed up the G20 summit in Mexico when he said “we have not come here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or how to handle the economy.” It’s not hard to understand his frustration.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 20, 2012

Euro End Game Begins

By Julian Lindley-French

It is beginning. The Euro end game is upon us. Last night President Hollande said at the G-Empty summit in Los Cabos that the bail-out fund should be used to ease the cost of Spanish and Italian borrowing. This is leader-speak for telling us all that the contagion that started with Greece and spread to […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 20, 2012

US and Russia Finding Ways Around UN Security Council

By Barbara Slavin

Both the US and Russia are circumventing the UN Security Council to deal with the worsening crisis in Syria. Neither is making much progress.

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2012

Exiting Afghanistan: A Regional Approach

By Shuja Nawaz and Abigail Friedman

Now that the dust has settled on the Chicago Summit, it might be time to see what truly emerged from all the noise and celebration about the cooperation among NATO allies and with Afghanistan. One issue got lost in that hoopla: Afghanistan’s regional context.

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2012

Anchoring the Alliance: Building Partnerships

By R. Nicholas Burns Damon Wilson and Jeffrey Lightfoot

It is ultimately the responsibility of NATO’s member states to make the difficult political choices and investments in their security necessary to ensure the health of the Alliance. But to address the challenges of a globalized security landscape, the Alliance also needs to do more with partners outside the Euro-Atlantic area who share its interests […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 19, 2012

Enlightened Engagement: US-China Relations

By Victor Chu

It was Napoleon who said in 1803: “Let that sleeping giant sleep, for when he wakes up, he will shake the world.” Napoleon was, of course, referring to China. True enough, the rise (more correctly the renaissance) of China resulting from its remarkable, open-door economic structural reforms over the last thirty years has shaken the […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2012

US Offers Familiar Carrot For Iran Nuclear Compromise

By Barbara Slavin

Spare parts have been a perennial US offer to induce Iran to change its ways — or to reward it for positive steps — and were almost provided 20 years ago near the end of the George H.W. Bush administration, Al-Monitor has learned.

New Atlanticist

Jun 18, 2012

The Anglosphere: Two Hundred Years On

By Julian Lindley-French

Two hundred years ago today US President James Madison declared war on the British Empire and the War of 1812 began.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 15, 2012

OPEC and Saudi Shrewd Middle Power Diplomacy

By Robert Manning

For middle powers like Saudi Arabia an effective foreign policy requires both cunning and a knack for identifying force multipliers. Of course, being the world’s largest oil producer is a bit of a force multiplier by itself, as the move on Thursday by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) not to reduce production despite […]

Share

Issue briefs and reports