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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 Euro-Optimists and Euro-Skeptics – New Division Replaces Old and New Europe?

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.

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The Euro-Optimists and Euro-Skeptics – New Division Replaces Old and New Europe?

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

The Euro-Optimists and Euro-Skeptics – New Division Replaces Old and New Europe?

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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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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European Union Map Logo

New Atlanticist

Aug 8, 2011

The Euro-Optimists and Euro-Skeptics – New Division Replaces Old and New Europe?

By Daria Dylla

Recent months have powerfully brought to light that the enthusiasm for the idea of the European Union as a common home without borders is far from internalized by European societies.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2011

Life in the AA+ League: What a Debt Downgrade Means to You

By Alexei Monsarrat

How bad is it going to be with a AA+ credit rating?  The answer to that question depends on what you’re concerned about.  The economy: If you’re worried that economic ruin is now upon us, then you can breathe easy (for now).  Traders and economists broadly agree that the impact on borrowing rates for the U.S. […]

Economy & Business United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2011

S&P Downgrades USA; Time to Downgrade S&P?

By James Joyner

Standard & Poor’s judges that the American political system is a mess and that there should be long-term concern about its public debt. It’s hard to argue with that. But would investors really be better off buying Liechtenstein’s bonds than America’s? On what basis? S&P says the downgrade “reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that […]

Economy & Business United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Aug 6, 2011

Crisis? What Crisis? How to Save a Debt-Drowning Planet

By Julian Lindley-French

In late 1979, with the public service unions on strike and with the national debt spiraling out of control, Britain began to resemble a toilet. Prime Minister Jim Callaghan returned from a ‘summit’ in Guadeloupe (they never seem to hold summits in Rotherham or Detroit). The Sun, one of Britain’s Murdoch tabloid newspapers, famed for […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Aug 5, 2011

Ales Byalyatski, 2011 Atlantic Council Freedom Awardee, Arrested in Belarus

By The Editors

On August 4, Belarusian authorities detained Ales Byalyatski, Chairman of the Human Rights Center “Viasna,” and a recipient of a 2011 Atlantic Council Freedom Award. In June, Byalyatski accepted the Council’s Freedom Award for Viasna’s extraordinary work and in recognition of his long-time struggle for human rights in Belarus. Representatives from Viasna, the Belarusian Association […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 5, 2011

Al-Qaeda’s North African franchise moves south

By J. Peter Pham

British and Italian officials are checking a video received Thursday by Agence France-Presse which, if authenticated, will confirm not only the fate of two Westerners abducted in Nigeria in May, but the worrisome fact that al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has now extended its reach into Nigeria.  While the Foreign Office […]

Africa Extremism

New Atlanticist

Aug 5, 2011

4 Steps Merkel and Sarkozy Should Take Now

By Alexei Monsarrat

Wall Street Journal reports that German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy are to speak today “with the ‘current situation in the euro zone’ among the issues to be discussed.”  They have much to talk about.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 5, 2011

The Devil in the Budget Reduction Details

By Don Snow

After a game of chicken that lasted for weeks, the grand budget reduction package has finally passed. Tinged with more than a hint of disgust and distaste for the unseemly process that got to the final agreement, most people are heaving a sigh of relief that the debt default bullet has been dodged at least […]

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Aug 4, 2011

The European Union’s Fort Sumter Moment

By Sarwar Kashmeri

In 1776, the founding fathers of the United States made a grand bargain to ensure the birth of a new republic. They agreed to sideline the new country’s black population, even though the Constitution they were about to endorse proclaimed that all men are created equal. This compromise ensured approval of the constitution and the […]

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Aug 4, 2011

Unthinkable is Reality

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The nail-biting, cliff-hanger produced something that didn’t pass mental math. To raise America’s $14.3 trillion federal debt ceiling hours ahead of Tuesday’s deadline by $2.4 trillion in two stages while committing to equal spending cuts over 10 years — still with me? — was more fool’s bargain than bargain basement. The complete collapse of the […]

Economy & Business United States and Canada
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