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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New Atlanticist

Oct 31, 2011

Italian Given Worst Job in Europe

By Ben Carliner

The Onion famously announced the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency in 2008 with the headline: Black Man Given Nation’s Worst Job. The Onion noted that the position “comes with such intense scrutiny and so certain a guarantee of failure that only one other person even bothered applying for it.”

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Oct 31, 2011

Israel: A True Ally in the Middle East

By Robert D. Blackwill and Walter B. Slocombe

American leaders have traditionally explained the foundations of the U.S.-Israel relationship by citing shared democratic values and the moral responsibility America bears to protect the small nation-state of the Jewish people. Although accurate and essential, this characterization is incomplete because it fails to capture a third, crucial aspect: the many ways in which Israel advances […]

Israel

New Atlanticist

Oct 31, 2011

NTM-A and the Afghan National Security Force: Two Year Review

By William B. Caldwell IV

For two years, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan (NTM-A) has partnered with the Government of Afghanistan to develop the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF). NATO leadership had the vision in 2009 to establish NTM-A to assume lead for the development of the ANSF. When they did so in November 2009 they provided it with the right strategy, […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Oct 29, 2011

No Taxation Without Representation!

By Julian Lindley-French

The 26 October Euro Summit Statement and the decision by the seventeen Eurozone countries to move towards ever deeper economic and fiscal integration will make Britain and the British people third or fourth class European citizens, after the likes of Belgium and Luxembourg. For the world’s fifth or sixth largest economy and Europe’s strongest military […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 28, 2011

Eurozone Crisis Solved . . . Again!

By Alexei Monsarrat and James Joyner

The overnight deal to address the Eurozone debt crisis follows an eerily familiar pattern. Waiting until action was long overdue, Europe’s leaders have come up with a solution they will sell as final and complete while leaving important — and potentially deal killing — details for later. The markets surged yesterday on the news of […]

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2011

A Bridge Too Far: Britain Must Now Leave the European Union

By Julian Lindley-French

You will forgive your faithful blogonaut a third blog in a week on the same topic – the Eurozone crisis. However, the mission of this blog is to peer through the political murk and the fog of jaw behind which the Euro-Aristocracy and their faithful Eurocrats love to hide and bear witness to real strategic change. […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2011

Ukraine’s Future in Ten Stages

By Taras Kuzio

More than two weeks after Yulia Tymoshenko widely-condemned conviction on political charges, no price has been paid . The fact that European and American governments are discussing the possibility of visa black lists behind closed doors does not mean they will appear soon. As EU Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira said, “although closing the door […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 26, 2011

Persistence Pays Off with “Rogue” Regimes

By Barbara Slavin

The United States and North Korea are resuming the joint search for U.S. soldiers still missing from the Korean War, one of the few positive areas of interaction between two countries estranged for more than 60 years. The announcement last week by the Pentagon came before two days of U.S.-North Korea talks in Geneva over […]

Korea

New Atlanticist

Oct 26, 2011

Threats to Iraq’s Democracy Extend Beyond Security

By Yuvaraj Sivalingam

President Obama’s announcement that the US troop presence in Iraq will come to an end in December sparked a debate not only over the wisdom of the decision but also the capacity of the Iraqi military and police to maintain law and order in the country. While security threats do pose a significant danger to Iraq’s […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Oct 26, 2011

Why Punishing Ukraine Only Hurts Reformers

By Dean Jackson

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko was recently sentenced to seven years in prison at the close of a corruption trial which was roundly condemned as highly political and deeply unfair. The verdict met with disapproval both abroad and in Ukraine, where protests have been stymied by government security forces. Vitali Klitscko, leader of the […]

European Union International Organizations

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