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

Nov 18, 2011

Will NATO Intervene In Syria?

By James Joyner

Among the explanations given for why the West intervened in Libya but has thus far stayed out of the far greater crisis in Syria has been the lack of regional support for action. That excuse appears to be nearing its expiration date.

International Organizations NATO

New Atlanticist

Nov 18, 2011

Key Regional Perspectives: Central Asia

By Anna Borshchevskaya

Afghanistan is both the key and the lock preventing the Central Asian region from moving further, said Ambassador Robert Finn as he opened yesterday’s “Key Regional Perspectives: Central Asia” session at the Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum. “We need to talk about Afghanistan when we talk about Central Asia,” he said.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 17, 2011

Picking A President: The System Works

By James Joyner

The Republican candidates for president are tripping over themselves to see who can say the most embarrassingly inept thing on foreign affairs. Erstwhile front-runner Herman Cain has singlehandedly kept the late-night comics supplied with material, most recently by giving the impression that he was completely oblivious to the fact that the United States had been militarily involved in […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Nov 17, 2011

Ales Byalyatski and the Price of Freedom

By Cynthia Romero

In the midst of the euphoria brought on by the “Arab Spring,” it is easy to forget that freedom struggles are oftentimes hard-fought battles with few wins and more losses.

New Atlanticist

Nov 16, 2011

Beginning of the End for Assad?

By Barbara Slavin

Actions by the Arab League this week have given a regional seal of approval to Syrian opposition forces and could mark the beginning of the end of the Assad family dictatorship that has ruled Syria for more than 40 years. Regional experts and members of the Syrian opposition expect the process to be long, complicated […]

Syria

New Atlanticist

Nov 16, 2011

Iran: Not Necessarily a Nuclear Apocalypse

By Harlan Ullman

Last week, the United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency released an assessment of Iran’s nuclear programs. While not overly alarmist, the report warned that, based on inputs from nearly a dozen different national intelligence agencies, Iran was developing programs in virtually all categories essential for production of nuclear weapons as well missile delivery systems. Iran […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Nov 15, 2011

Stalemate in Afghanistan

By Afrasiab Khattak

While a horrifying military conflict is continuously raging in Afghanistan there seems to be a complete stalemate on the political front. As 2014 is drawing closer there is little hope for any breakthrough in terms of some consensus among the most important players who are egoistically clinging to their positions on post-withdrawal arrangements. Zero-sum games […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 15, 2011

The Strategic Influence Game 5: A German Europe or a European Germany?

By Julian Lindley-French

Germany has never found the leadership of Europe easy to attain or to execute. And yet Germany today finds itself the unrivalled leader of the European Union. Can Germany for once get leadership right? Only at the very 1871 beginning of modern Germany’s uneasy existence was Berlin led by a man who grasped both the […]

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Nov 15, 2011

To Save Europe, Italy Must Defy Its History

By Alexei Monsarrat

Italy has a nearly 3,000-year history of violent and costly attempts at cohesion. Now, its people must take unity to a totally new level, coming together over painful reforms that will make or break the world’s eighth-largest economy – and the euro currency that holds much of Europe together. The Nov. 12 resignation of Italian […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 14, 2011

The US Can’t Afford to Pass on Yemen

By Danya Greenfield

In the wake of the winds of change that swept from Tunis to Cairo and beyond, frustrated Yemenis took to the streets to demand an end to corruption, responsive government, and respect for their basic political and social rights. For more than nine months, mass protests have spread through the country and millions have repeatedly […]

Yemen

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