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.

Libya Mission Creep: What If Gaddafi Doesn’t Fall Soon?

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.

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

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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Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

New Atlanticist

Apr 1, 2011

Libya Mission Creep: What If Gaddafi Doesn’t Fall Soon?

By James Joyner

Mother Jones’ Kevin Drum says he backed Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton because he had greater faith in the former’s judgment, especially on the matter of kinetic interventions. Alas, that confidence is being sorely tested. Obama has been a disappointment on civil liberties and national security issues, but since I frankly don’t think any modern […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2011

NATO After Libya

By Stanley Sloan

NATO has been given an important role in the campaign against Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya. However, this important task will not likely settle the on-going debate about NATO’s future. It has become popular in recent years for academics and commentators to question the validity of the NATO commitment for the United States and Canada […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2011

Saudi Nukes in Gulf

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Overlooked in the welter of fast moving events throughout the Arab world was a Saudi Arabian call for transforming the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council into "an entity identical to the (27-nation) European Union" — plus nuclear weapons. Saudi Arabia has grown impatient "Waiting for Godot." Samuel Beckett’s famous play depicts the "meaninglessness of life," with […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 30, 2011

NATO in Libya: Why Gaddafi Must Go

By Walter Slocombe

So far, the US as a nation, NATO as an institution, “Europe” as a collectivity, and many of its nations individually have done rather well on Libya. Sure, it took a while, but we now have in the field a military and political coalition led politically and (even after command has devolved on NATO) militarily […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 30, 2011

Europe’s Troubled Neighborhood (Policy)

By Matthew Czekaj

Unlike people, countries cannot choose their own neighborhoods, and the countries of the European Union are surrounded by some pretty turbulent suburbs. Yet, collectively, the EU has not been content to give in to the geographic hand it was dealt. Rather than simply putting up a barbed wire fence – though it has tried some […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Mar 30, 2011

Illusions and Delusions of War

By Harlan Ullman

Wars too often are created by illusions and delusions. This is what is happening in Libya. It is an illusion to believe that if Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi clings to power, the credibility and authority of the United Nations, Arab League, NATO, United States and other states comprising the opposing coalition won’t be dealt a […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 29, 2011

Obama Doctrine: If President Doesn’t Define, Pundits Will

By James Joyner

Tufts international relations professor Daniel Drezner is annoyed that the terms "doctrine," "strategy," and "grand strategy" are being used interchangeably in the ongoing debate over whether there is an Obama Doctrine and, if so, whether we can divine it from last night’s speech on the not-war in Libya.

New Atlanticist

Mar 29, 2011

A Long-Term Strategy for Libya and the Mediterranean: Over to the European Union

By Sven Biscop

Now that operations have started, all eyes are fixed on the military intervention in Libya. That can only be useful though in the context of a comprehensive political strategy for the country and the region. Crafting such a strategy is the role of the EU. Intervening in Libya is not evident. The operation is far […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Mar 29, 2011

Libya War: An Obama Doctrine?

By James Joyner

Ten days after sending American forces into kinetic military action in Libya, President Obama addressed the nation to explain "what we’ve done, what we plan to do, and why this matters to us."

New Atlanticist

Mar 29, 2011

Cartoon: We Can’t Afford U.S. Institute of Peace With all the Wars

By James Joyner

In the above cartoon, Politico‘s Matt Wuerker illustrates the funding disparity between the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Institute of Peace. Despite a budget of only $44 million, a small fraction of the costs of the Tomahawks fired by the U.S. in the first few hours of Operation Odyssey Dawn, there have been calls to eliminate USIP entirely. […]

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