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.

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

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 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

New Atlanticist

Mar 14, 2012

Lessons from the First Cyber Commanders

By Jason Healey and Karl Grindal

Even though major conflicts have occurred in cyberspace since the mid-1980s, these are largely unknown and untaught, making it far more likely that the United States will have to continually relearn the same lessons.

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Mar 13, 2012

Is Syria 2011 the Same As Spain 1936?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Is Syria’s civil war a prelude to a larger Mideast conflict that would involve Israel, Iran, the Arab Gulf countries minus Oman (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain) and Israel? Some knowledgeable military observers who have served or are serving in the Middle East say that the Arab Spring, which translated into chaos […]

Syria

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