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.

Isolation Won’t Heal Ukraine’s Democratic Deficit

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

Dec 1, 2011

Isolation Won’t Heal Ukraine’s Democratic Deficit

By Adrian Karatnycky

Twenty years ago today, Ukraine’s citizens ratified their country’s independence in a nationwide referendum, thereby ushering in the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union and launching their tortuous march toward a market economy, democracy and sovereignty.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2011

Saving the Euro – and the European Union

By Daniel Price

Germany ought to be able to debate its eurozone partners on the shape of needed economic reform without conjuring up historical fears of hegemony.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2011

Ukraine Turns Away from Europe and the West

By Taras Kuzio

The incarceration of Yulia Tymoshenko has temporarily halted and may permanently terminate Ukraine’s integration with Europe.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2011

Time to Let Macedonia Play with the Big Boys

By Metodija A. Koloski and Mark Branov

Rarely has a country’s standing in the community of nations collapsed as quickly as that of Greece.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2011

The Role of the West in a Libyan Trial of Saif al-Islam Qaddafi

By Yuvaraj Sivalingam

The international community played a critical role in aiding the Libyan rebel campaign that ultimately led to the ouster and death of Muammar Qaddafi. Now, the international community may yet play another crucial role as Libya attempts to demonstrate its ability to prosecute prominent members of the former regime in a manner that upholds international standards […]

Libya

New Atlanticist

Nov 29, 2011

As America Pivots to Asia, Where’s Europe?

By Kurt Volker

As America turns its attention to Asia, how should the relationship between the US and Europe develop? Both sides can work to bridge the gap.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2011

Does Germany Really Want to Save the Euro?

By Julian Lindley-French

Does Germany really want to save the Euro? The great Austrian strategist Count Metternich once famously said that when Paris sneezes, Europe catches cold. Today, he would probably substitute Berlin for Paris.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Nov 28, 2011

Democratic Congo’s Troubling Election

By Peter Pham

On Monday, November 28, millions of Congolese will go to the polls to elect a president and the members of its National Assembly. Sadly, at least with respect to the presidential race, there are worrisome indications—the country’s rather ironic official title as “the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (DRC) notwithstanding—that today’s vote will be little […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2011

Eurozone Crisis Hits Germany

By James Joyner

“The debt crisis is burrowing ever deeper, like a worm, and is now reaching Germany,” says Free Democrat Party backbencher Frank Schaeffler, a member of Angela Merkel’s governing coalition. Indeed, the country that all are looking to to save the Eurozone from collapse is now in big trouble. Germany fell short in its attempt to sell […]

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Nov 23, 2011

Russia’s Red Alert

By James Joyner

Russian President Dimitry Medvedev announced today that he would “immediately put the missile attack early warning radar station in Kaliningrad on combat alert” and take other aggressive steps to counter NATO’s missile defense system. In an official statement reprinted on NATOSource, Medvedev claims this step was taken after NATO and the United States rebuffed repeated gestures from […]

Missile Defense NATO

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