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
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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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.

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

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New Atlanticist

Apr 30, 2012

Hungary Through the Mirror

By Kurt Volker

Read any column about Hungary today and it will tell you how Prime Minister Viktor Orban is tearing up checks and balances and asserting one-sided control over Hungary’s democratic institutions. The European Union, the IMF, the Venice Commission and the U.S. government have all responded, demanding changes in many of the laws hastily waved through […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2012

Why We Need a Smart NATO

By Julian Lindley-French

There is some contention as to who actually said it – Winston Churchill, Admiral Lord Fisher, or Ernest Rutherford but in any case some Brit once said, “Gentlemen, we have run out of money. Now is the time to think.”

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2012

An Incomplete Justice

By Peter Pham

The verdict delivered Thursday against Charles G. Taylor for crimes against humanity ends a saga that began on Christmas Eve 1989, when Mr. Taylor and a group of Libyan-trained followers invaded Liberia, igniting a regional conflagration that eventually engulfed parts of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast. Although Mr. Taylor’s conviction, by a special tribunal […]

North & West Africa

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2012

Argentina before the Law

By Ana Palacio

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s decision to renationalize the energy company YPF has raised a virtual tsunami of political diatribes, threats from unexpected places and players, heated commentary from journalists worldwide, and public outrage in Argentina, Spain, and many other countries. But Fernández is not likely to care about the complaints; renationalization is playing […]

Latin America

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2012

Afghanistan Victory Not in Sight

By James Joyner

In a speech to the Atlantic Council this week, Major General John Toolan, just returned from a year commanding NATO forces in southwestern Afghanistan, both highlighted the tremendous progress coalition forces have made since the beginning of the Afghan surge and candidly acknowledged how much work remains to be done.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2012

Can Western Women Tame Iran’s Nuclear Negotiators?

By Laura Rozen and Barbara Slavin

Photos of the high-stakes Iran nuclear talks held in Istanbul earlier this month tell their own story.

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Apr 26, 2012

A World in Transformation

By Brent Scowcroft

We are living in a world that we know and that has shaped our thinking, but that world is in a process of transformation. We are struggling with institutions and practices of an Old World when that Old World is fading. This issue explores this global transformation, and I commend to you the articles contained […]

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2012

Nuclear Iran Not Inevitable, Says Israel’s Defense Chief

By James Joyner

Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, the head of Israel’s military, says that Iran’s leaders have not yet decided to develop nuclear weapons and that they may well never take that step.

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2012

Wag the Summit!

By Harlan Ullman

“Wag The Dog” was a terrific movie satire about a political operative who manufactured a tiny war to cover up a damning presidential indiscretion. How about a sequel?

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2012

The Case for Military Intervention in Syria

By Kurt Volker

President Obama was on the right track this week when he announced a new effort to monitor global hot spots and prevent mass atrocities before they happen.

Syria

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