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

Mar 19, 2012

Bailouts Are no Substitute for Reforms

By Leszek Balcerowicz

The eurozone’s fiscal problems are triggering memories of policies used to deal with similar crises in the past. In years past we have seen the IMF and comparable institutions acting as crisis lenders offering official bail-outs to distressed sovereign borrowers. We have witnessed the monetisation of public debt by central banks, and the outright reduction […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2012

China’s Military Spending and US National Security

By Derek Reveron

In a sign of transparency, China recently unveiled its annual military budget of 670 billion yuan ($106 billion), which represents a $10.6 billion annual increase. Given that China’s currency is undervalued, some estimates bring the total to over $200 billion and even higher when foreign procurement is included.

China

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2012

A Hasty Retreat Would Add to the Huge Toll of the War

By Shuja Nawaz

We have failed in Afghanistan. Failed to define tightly the original mission. Failed to see Afghanistan through its own eyes and through the eyes of its neighbors. And we failed to explain to the American people why we were there and why we need to remain a partner in the region even when the fighting […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2012

Cybersecurity Legislation Should Force US Government to Listen Less and Speak More

By Jason Healey

To defend itself from the onslaughts of online crime and espionage backed by China and other nations, America’s private sector needs the capabilities of the US government. These tax-paying companies are on the new front lines of the cyber conflict, in which private enterprise is facing nation-state funded threats. Given their role in maintaining America’s […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 16, 2012

To Help Syria, Apply a Mix of ‘Soft’ and ‘Hard’ Power

By Benedetta Berti

The debate over the role of the international community in Syria is disheartening, dominated by skepticism about the ability of outsiders to have a positive impact. This stems from the fact that two main options – continuing to refrain from direct intervention or waging a fully fledged military campaign – both have serious drawbacks. Is […]

International Organizations NATO

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2012

The Tragedy of All or Nothing Interventions

By Bernard Finel

Dan Trombly has a chacteristically thoughtful post on lessons we’ve learned (or not learned) from recent interventions. In it, he writes:

Libya Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2012

Subtle Signs Obama Diplomacy May Work on Iran

By Barbara Slavin

After months of increasingly ominous war talk by the United States, Israel and Iran, there are intriguing signs of potential diplomatic progress over Iran’s nuclear program. A series of events – both internal and external – have improved the odds for fruitful negotiations when the United States and its U.N. Security Council partners plus Germany […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 15, 2012

Fukushima, Europe’s Nuclear Test

By Ana Palacio

Seen from Europe, the irrationality of the political and media discourse over nuclear energy has, if anything, increased and intensified in the year since the meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Yet a dispassionate assessment of nuclear energy’s place in the world remains as necessary as it is challenging. Europeans should not pontificate on […]

Energy & Environment Europe & Eurasia

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2012

Obameron Versus Merkozy

By Julian Lindley-French

I could tell you where I am but then I would have to kill you. I have just spent the day annoying NATO generals, the majority of whom are British, which is one of my purposes in life. Much of the day was spent by the British explaining the debt-fueled contradiction that is likely to […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2012

Dr. Strangelove, Israel, and Iran

By Harlan Ullman

In considering how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, it is instructive first to see Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 movie masterpiece “Dr. Strangelove — Or How I Learned to Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb.”

Iran

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