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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Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

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Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Dec 23, 2011

Iraq: Worst Fears Coming True

By James Joyner

For years, analysts have worried that Iraq’s tenuous hold on stability would collapse upon the withdrawal of US forces. We’re now watching it happen.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Dec 22, 2011

A (Slightly) Merrier Christmas in Mogadishu

By Peter Pham

While billions of people around the world join in Christmas celebrations this weekend, there will be few outward signs of holiday cheer, religious or otherwise, in the onetime Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Somalia

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2011

Guido Westerwelle: Europe’s New Hillary Clinton?

By Julian Lindley-French

Watching German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle with British Foreign Secretary William Hague this week I was reminded of a John F. Kennedy quote; “The problem with power is how to achieve its responsible use, rather than its irresponsible or indulgent use”. That is not to suggest that Westerwelle is in any way irresponsible. Indeed, what […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2011

Mission Not Accomplished

By Harlan Ullman

Last week, the Obama administration announced the end of U.S. engagement in the Iraq war, honoring a campaign promise and the agreement that U.S. President George W. Bush reached with Baghdad to remove combat forces by the end of 2011. But violence and instability in Iraq and the region are far from over. And […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Dec 20, 2011

European Worries Over US Commitment a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

By James Joyner

The perennial worry in London about the state of the “special relationship” took a new twist last week, with the chief of the British military chief publicly wondering what America’s Pacific focus will mean for his country’s security. General Sir David Richard, Chief of the Defence Staff, delivering his annual lecture to the Royal United Services […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Dec 20, 2011

EU-US Energy Coordination Should Focus on Unconventional Gas

By Alexandros Petersen

Overshadowed by the frantic negotiations to save the Euro-zone, but in many ways no less important, high-level EU and US representatives met in Washington DC at the end of last month to midwife still nascent official cooperation on energy policy between the transatlantic partners.

Energy & Environment European Union

New Atlanticist

Dec 19, 2011

What’s Next for Russia and Putin?

By Anna Borshchevskaya

On December 10, the largest demonstrations since 1991 shook at least 15 cities in Russia. In Moscow, tens of thousands took to the streets, protesting the fraudulent parliamentary elections on December 4.

Elections Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Dec 19, 2011

The Power of the Powerless: In Memory of Europe’s Great, Ordinary Man

By Julian Lindley-French

Two men died this weekend. One was a towering literary and political figure, one of my heroes, a man who understood change and freedom and put his life on the line for it. The other was not; resisting change and freedom at all costs in the defence of an extreme version of a failed idea […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2011

Iran Hedges Its Bets on Syria

By Barbara Slavin

Iran is courting the opposition to Syrian President Bashar al- Assad, seeking to maintain a crucial alliance in the event that Assad falls. So far, Iranian officials have met at least twice with members of the National Coordinating Committee (NCC). The Damascus-based group opposes foreign intervention in Syria and advocates reform to resolve the nine-month-old […]

Iran Syria

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2011

A Week is a Long Time in High and Low Politics

By Julian Lindley-French

In 1964 former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson said, “A week is a long time in politics”. This has been a very long week for both high and low politics.

European Union International Organizations

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