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.

The Future of Energy-Dominated Foreign 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

Feb 17, 2012

The Future of Energy-Dominated Foreign Policy

By Derek Reveron

Since almost every government in the world values economic prosperity as a national interest, energy is a key determinant of foreign policy. Of the BRIC countries, Brazil’s and Russia’s growth are dependent on energy exports while China’s and India’s rise are dependent on energy production and imports. China’s foray into the global economy can be […]

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Feb 17, 2012

Entente Frugale: Why England and France Must Hang Together…or Hang Separately

By Julian Lindley-French

David Cameron is today in Paris to meet with his ‘friend’ French President Nicholas Sarkozy. The ostensible purpose of the meeting is to sign a treaty of co-operation on the sharing of civil nuclear technology, i.e. the French are to remind the English of what they once knew about nuclear stuff but have now forgotten, […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Feb 17, 2012

Opening Europe’s Mediterranean Window

By Ana Palacio

One year after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, with popular upheavals continuing to roil the Arab world, it is increasingly clear that Europe can no longer sit still and do nothing.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Feb 17, 2012

Putin’s Campaign

By Anna Borshchevskaya

Shaken by the largest wave of protests since 1991, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has stepped up his campaign for a third presidential term as the March 4 elections draw near.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Feb 16, 2012

Pivot Towards Asia Not Pivot Away From Europe

By James Joyner

While President Obama’s new defense strategy is pivoting towards Asia, it’s “not a pivot away from Europe in any way at all,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter assured his Atlantic Council audience.

New Atlanticist

Feb 16, 2012

Why England Needs a First Amendment

By Julian Lindley-French

A democracy without a written constitution is always in peril from political law. Three current controversies underline the extent to which England today faces just such peril: the attempt to deport radical Islamist Jordanian cleric Abu Qatada; the Leveson inquiry into press standards and ethics; and the February arrest and jailing of a woman for […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Feb 16, 2012

BHO Equals W on Steroids!

By Harlan Ullman

Ironic humor, fortunately, is never far from politics. Few may recall the so-called “freedom agenda” advanced by President George W. Bush a decade ago. Spreading democracy by muscular means would “transform” the Middle East as autocratic regimes crumbled. And it did but not the way Bush intended. Afghanistan and Iraq were the test cases and […]

Europe After The Vote

Feb 15, 2012

Who Will Pay for Greece?

By Julian Lindley-French

“Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit”, Aristotle once famously wrote. He could have been talking of Greece today.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Feb 15, 2012

In Egypt, Follow the Advice of President Theodore Roosevelt

By Sarwar Kashmeri

Almost exactly 100 years ago President Theodore Roosevelt spoke to the General Assembly of Cairo University. Egypt was then, as it is today, in political turmoil as nationalist groups seethed under the rule of the British Crown, clamoring for freedom. The nationalists felt that the very act of deliverance from the Colonial power would translate […]

North Africa

New Atlanticist

Feb 15, 2012

Global Power Gone

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

From dust to dust, global power is no more. So says Zbigniew Brzezinski, the only rival to Henry Kissinger in America’s contemporary geopolitical hall of fame.

United States and Canada

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