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.

Whither the African Union?

New Atlanticist
Jul 29, 2025

The Russia pressure menu: Options to convince Putin to negotiate on Ukraine 

As the US president cuts his deadline for Russia to ten days, there are several options for him to increase pressure on Moscow to pursue peace.

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Whither the African Union?

New Atlanticist
Jul 24, 2025

Dispatch from Manila: A lesson in calling out Chinese maritime aggression

By
Markus Garlauskas, Philip W. Yu

As the Philippines has focused more on Chinese threats to itself, Manila also seems increasingly inclined to see its own security as connected to that of the broader region.

China
Indo-Pacific

Whither the African Union?

New Atlanticist
Jul 1, 2025

The US must enforce sanctions to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program

By
Kimberly Donovan

To ensure that Tehran cannot get its hands on the financial resources it would need to rebuild its nuclear program, Iran sanctions enforcement should start with China.

Economic Sanctions
Iran

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Content

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2011

Whither the African Union?

By Peter Pham

With their attention largely focused in recent months on the unprecedented challenges faced by some of the pillars of the transatlantic community—NATO during and after the intervention in Libya, the European Union as it struggles to contain the sovereign debt crisis, and the United States where partisan wrangling over the budget deficits again threatens to […]

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2011

The SAS War Diaries: Who Thinks Wins

By Julian Lindley-French

They literally leapt to prominence in May 1980 when Britain’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) stormed Iran’s hijacked London embassy. I was watching snooker on the BBC at the time as coverage was interrupted to cover the assault live. It was the dawn of the 24/7 media age in which we live today. I can […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2011

Another Swing, Another Missed Opportunity for Leadership

By Alexei Monsarrat

Does anyone read G20 communiqué’s anymore?  In case you missed it, the G20 finance ministers yesterday released a statement saying they are “committed to a strong and coordinated international response to address the renewed challenges facing the global economy.” 

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2011

The Afghan National Police

By William B. Caldwell IV

Last week’s attack in Kabul underscored two points. First, insurgents groups have the intent to undermine international efforts to bring security and stability to Afghanistan. Second, the Afghan Army, Air Force, and Police have the means to minimize insurgent ambition.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2011

The Ahmadinejad Show

By Barbara Slavin

Tormenting Western journalists must be among the few pleasures left to Iran’s beleaguered president. On Thursday afternoon in his New York hotel, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad punted questions about human rights, expressed sympathy for the downtrodden masses of Europe and America, and otherwise managed to wear down an august assembly of American media, from New Yorker editor […]

International Organizations Iran

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2011

Obama Must Choose Between Israel and the Arab World

By Rena Zuabi

On the margins of the United Nations Security Council vote on the Palestinian Authority’s bid for statehood, President Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan this week in New York to discuss the future of Turkey’s deteriorating relations with Israel. Since Israel’s attack on the Gaza Flotilla in 2010, which killed nine Turkish citizens, […]

Israel

New Atlanticist

Sep 22, 2011

Transatlantic Leadership Absent But Desperately Needed

By James Joyner

As the transatlantic community faces its greatest challenges since the end of World War II, it is more vital than ever. That theme resonated through the speeches of all three honorees at the second annual  Atlantic Council Global Citizen Award dinner. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, pointed to the crisis in the […]

New Atlanticist

Sep 22, 2011

The Arab Spring: Libya and Syria

By Don Snow

Libya and Syria have become the poster children for the varied impacts that the so-called Arab Spring have had on the Islamic Middle East. They are not the most important countries to have undergone changes (Egypt, the outcome of whose upheaval remains a work in progress, can claim that distinction), but they do represent the […]

Libya Syria

New Atlanticist

Sep 21, 2011

Breakthrough or Just Broken? China and Russia’s UNGA Proposal on Cyber Norms

By Jason Healey

China and Russia just dropped a surprising draft resolution at the United Nations General Assembly. 

China International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Sep 21, 2011

America Don’t Get No Respect

By Harlan Ullman

The late American comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s signature line was “I don’t get no respect.” Dangerfield’s routine was packed with jokes about how anything from inanimate objects such as refrigerators to children and pets managed to disrespect him. Today, sadly, is the United States becoming a global Rodney Dangerfield? No matter where one looks, America ain’t […]

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