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

Sep 12, 2011

Being NATO’s Secretary General on 9/11

By Lord Robertson

Being NATO Secretary General is always a job fraught with challenges and surprises. But on 11 September, 2001, Lord Robertson had one of the most extraordinary experiences of any NATO Secretary General. Here, he recounts how the day panned out. At NATO Headquarters in Brussels, it was just an ordinary Tuesday. One which was to […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Sep 12, 2011

9/11 Ten Years After

By Ioan Mircea Pascu

10 years after 9/11 at the current rapid pace of time are enough to permit a general evaluation of its consequences and, therefore, significance. Of course, the question: “what would have been the US foreign policy without 9/11?” will always remain … Personally, in retrospect, I am of the opinion that the US reaction, particularly […]

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Sep 11, 2011

Paying the Consequences of 9/11 Overreach

By Chuck Hagel

Every American who is at least 20 years old remembers where he or she was on that sunny September morning 10 years ago. Sept. 11, 2001, was one of the most transformative events in the history of America. And its consequences rippled across the globe. This historic attack on the United States set in motion […]

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2011

Deterrence for the post-9/11 era

By Barry Pavel & Matthew Kroenig

Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker’s new book, Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against al Qaeda, credits our role in developing the first US government-wide strategy for deterring terrorist networks. They write that we “crafted a briefing to make the case that a combination of efforts — economic, diplomatic, military, political, and psychological … could in fact […]

Terrorism

New Atlanticist

Sep 9, 2011

Key Resignation Another Blow to Eurozone Stability

By James Joyner

The markets took another hard hit today following the abrupt resignation of Jürgen Stark, Germany’s member of the European Central Bank’s board. The euro hit six month lows against the dollar, bank stocks tumbled five percent, the Dow was down 3 percent, and the FTSE All-World index fell 3.07 percent amid near certainty that Greece would […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Sep 9, 2011

The End of Twentieth-Century Warfare

By Anne-Marie Slaughter

9/11 was the defining event of the new millennium, but not for the reasons we thought for most of the ensuing decade. For most of that period we would have pointed to 9/11 as the beginning of twenty-first century warfare: perpetual vigilance and probing pre-emptive strikes against an ill-defined, global, networked and largely non-state enemy. […]

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Sep 8, 2011

G-7 Faces Three-Front Battle Against Contagion

By Julie Chon

Tomorrow, finance ministers and central bankers from seven wealthy countries in the developed world will convene in Marseilles, France for their regular meeting to assess the health of the global economy. After a few global gatherings when the economic outlook appeared more promising in 2009 and 2010, the G7 agenda is back to battling contagion […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Sep 8, 2011

Tragedy, Hope, and 9/11 Remembered

By William B. Caldwell IV

Ten years have passed since the United States suffered tragedy on September 11th, but the implications continue to ripple throughout American discourse and international politics. As we mourned during the weeks and months that followed the attack, Dan Rather wrote, “if any good has come out of such evil, it is this: we have been […]

Afghanistan United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Sep 8, 2011

Ten Years After 9/11 – What Have We Learned?

By Kurt Volker

After a decade defined by the terrorist attacks on the United States, and the reactions and events that followed, one thing is clear: the global advance of core values – freedom, democracy, economic opportunity, human rights and the rule of law – remains the best hope for the future of all people.

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Sep 7, 2011

Sleepwalking into a Nuclear Nightmare

By Julian Lindley-French

With the West deep in sombre remembrance of 911, a new and dangerous shift in the nuclear balance is taking place in the shadows. There is a New Nuclear Realpolitik afoot that is shaping today’s world… and tomorrow’s. Iran is moving patiently towards a nuclear weapons system. Taken together the empty commitment made towards a […]

Iran Nuclear Nonproliferation

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