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.

US Foreign Policy Debate: A Clash of Midgets

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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New Atlanticist

Apr 5, 2012

US Foreign Policy Debate: A Clash of Midgets

By Harlan Ullman

Last Friday’s Washington Post headline read “Romney to stress foreign policy” in the presidential race. The presumptive Republican nominee clearly recognized that it isn’t entirely “the economy stupid.” One way to win in November may be through discrediting Barack Obama’s foreign policy. While ripe for attack, foreign policy isn’t usually the basis for winning or […]

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 5, 2012

Who Will Bear the Cost of NATO’s Exit from Afghanistan? Ask Afghan Women

By Ahmad Waheed Andrea Barbara Baumann and Geety Samadi

In the run-up to NATO’s 2012 Chicago summit, Alliance members look ever more determined to leave Afghanistan sooner rather than later. In spite of the flurry of media reports, recent security incidents involving members of both the Afghan and the American security forces can be considered tragic exceptions. They nevertheless fuel the argument that little […]

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2012

Obama Must Reset Relations with Russia Along Economic Lines

By Fran Burwell and Svante Cornell

As Vladimir Putin prepares for his May inauguration and return to the Russian presidency, the United States must design a new relationship with this often difficult leader and his country. The “Russian Reset” of President Obama’s first term sought to overcome the strain in relations of recent years in order to achieve some specific foreign […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2012

Scowcroft: NATO Future as UN Security Force

By James Joyner

General Brent Scowcroft argues that NATO’s Libya intervention may point to the future of the military alliance as the go-to enforcer of UN Security Council resolutions.

International Organizations Libya

New Atlanticist

Apr 4, 2012

The Ripple Effect of the Arab Spring and Weapon Proliferation

By Joanna Buckley

The Arab Awakening has advanced democracy through the Middle East and North Africa but the ripple effects created by the leak of military weaponry into surrounding unstable and conflict areas pose long-term national and regional security implications. This should be a critical factor for the international community when weighing potential intervention.

Libya Syria

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2012

Syrian Opposition Must Prove It Can Handle Foreign Funds

By Barbara Slavin

In the aftermath of its latest meeting with international supporters, the opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) faces a crucial test: whether it can spend millions of dollars in foreign aid efficiently and without corruption. Syria analysts and SNC members concede that the council has been slow to organize behind a single leader or vision to […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 3, 2012

Brent Scowcroft Assesses the US-China Relationship

By Sarwar Kashmeri

In the latest edition of the New Atlanticist Podcast Series, General Brent Scowcroft discusses managing the US-China relationship with Sarwar Kashmeri, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, and offers his personal observations on China’s President-in-waiting Xi Jinping following his visit to the United States in February.

New Atlanticist

Apr 2, 2012

Joint Strike Fighter II: The Best is the Enemy of the Good?

By Julian Lindley-French

Today is the thirtieth anniversary of the 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falklands about which I will say more later in the week. Last week I wrote a piece about the spiraling out of control costs of the ‘Fifth Generation’ F-35 Lightning II all-singing, all-dancing multirole combat aircraft.

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Apr 2, 2012

The mess in Mali

By J. Peter Pham

In less than two weeks, the West African nation of Mali has gone from being a rare oasis of democracy and stability to a near failed state whose troubles threaten to ripple across the Sahel where the security situation, always delicate even in the best of times, is especially stressed in the wake of the […]

Conflict Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Mar 30, 2012

Will Iran’s Quest for Nuclear Weapons Bring a Second Holocaust?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

“SHOWDOWN” is splashed in large red letters across the cover of Newsmax, the April issue of the conservative monthly. Followed by, in smaller letters, “Iran’s Plan for a Second Holocaust Must Be Stopped.” And, in parentheses, in still smaller type, between the twin grim-looks of Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Israel’s Binyamin Netanyahu, the cover story […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

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