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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New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2012

Ending the Afghan Slog

By James Joyner

Standing alongside British prime minister David Cameron, President Obama declared, “This is a hard slog. This is hard work. When I came into office, there had been drift in the Afghan strategy, in part because we had spent a lot of time focusing on Iraq instead. Over the last three years, we have refocused attention […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Mar 19, 2012

To Stabilize Libya, Transatlantic Political Engagement Needed

By Alec Simantov

The setbacks to Libya’s internal security and stability are worsening in the run up to scheduled June elections.

Libya

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

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