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

Aug 9, 2011

London’s Burning

By Julian Lindley-French

“London’s burning! London’s burning! All across the town, all across the night”. So goes the song by The Clash from the last time London burned in the early 1980s. Last night I watched aghast as streets I know were torched by a mindless, criminal mob. People were robbed in their beds before being burned out […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Aug 9, 2011

What Next in Libya?

By Derek Reveron

It’s been over four months since NATO launched its air campaign in Libya. Dubbed Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR, NATO pilots have logged at least 17,924 sorties, 6,788 of which were strike missions “to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under attack or threat of attack.”

Libya
NATO

New Atlanticist

Aug 9, 2011

Under NATO’s Flag: An Interim Assessment of the Mission In Libya (Part One)

By Vladimir Socor

NATO is only nominally in charge of the stalemated war in Libya. The Alliance’s leader, the United States, was quick to move to a back seat in this operation after having sparked it. Europe’s residual military powers, France and Britain, are mainly in charge of this war, operating as a tandem but basically in their […]

Libya
NATO

New Atlanticist

Aug 8, 2011

Europe’s War Against Ratings Agencies Escalates

By James Joyner

Lost in the hubbub of Standard & Poor’s downgrading the US bond rating is news that the Italian government has the ratings agencies under criminal investigation. The Guardian‘s John Hooper:

European Union
International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Aug 8, 2011

National Security in an Age of Austerity

By Kurt Volker

“Why are we closing schools in the United States and building schools in Afghanistan?” This was a question recently put to me by a Somali-born taxi driver. Though he may be a newly minted citizen, he cut right to the chase of how Americans feel about foreign policy these days. These feelings are only amplified […]

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 […]

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