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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.

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Obama’s Very Conventional Foreign 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.

Read More

Obama’s Very Conventional Foreign Policy

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

Obama’s Very Conventional Foreign Policy

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

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New Atlanticist

Apr 13, 2011

Obama’s Very Conventional Foreign Policy

By James Joyner

 Harvard’s Stephen Walt reflects on the impending game of musical chairs at the top levels of the Obama administration’s foreign policy team: I don’t think these changes are going to make much difference.  It’s not like Obama will be replacing the current set of officials with people who have a fundamentally different perspective on foreign and defense […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 13, 2011

Georgia Gives Up MAP, but Expects to Join NATO Anyway

By Matthew Czekaj

It should now be crystal clear: Georgia no longer wants a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for NATO accession. But it still expects to become a member of the Alliance. 

Transatlantic

New Atlanticist

Apr 13, 2011

Atlantic Update 4/13/11

By Klee Aiken

The trial of Geert Wilders on the charge of "inciting hate" resumes in Amsterdam amidst the controversial decision by France to ban the wearing of a burqa. While the European Union mulls extending the single market across the Mediterranean, the drawing power of membership begins to wane as many in Croatia see the topic as […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 12, 2011

Eurozone Humor

By James Joyner

This one is apparently making the rounds: "A German, a Greek, an Irishman and a Portuguese go into a bar. The German pays." via Aaron Ellis

Transatlantic

New Atlanticist

Apr 12, 2011

Atlantic Update 4/12/11

By Klee Aiken

Russia celebrates the 50th anniversary of manned space flight while Libya, the finances of Portugal and Iceland, and terrorist attacks keep most of Europe grounded.

New Atlanticist

Apr 11, 2011

Should Transparency Stop at the Water’s Edge?

By James Joyner

 In an article for CNN titled "Is it OK for spy agency chiefs to tell the truth?" former CIA and NSA director Michael Hayden proclaims, "Jim Clapper was right all along!"

New Atlanticist

Apr 11, 2011

A Thaw in Ukraine?

By Adrian Karatnycky

The recent indictment of former President Leonid Kuchma for abuse of power in the case of the murder in 2000 of investigative journalist Heorhiy Gongadze has sent shockwaves through the Ukrainian body politic.

Ukraine
Transatlantic

New Atlanticist

Apr 11, 2011

Atlantic Update 4/11/11

By Klee Aiken

Europe is divided as the Netherlands and the U.K. sue Iceland, politics cloud the one year anniversary of the air disaster in Smolensk,  and Italy uses "dirty tricks" to deal with the influx of refugees.

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2011

Libya SNAFU: You Get What You Train For

By James Joyner

Continuing problems with the coalition operation in Libya reinforce an old military adage: You fight like you train. Yesterday, we learned that Swedish jets were grounded because the air base didn’t stock the right type of fuel. Today, we learned Libyan rebels were painting their vehicles pink after yet another incident in which NATO mistakenly fired on them, […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2011

Global Domestic Politics

By Frederick Kempe

One of the most important findings in my new book, Berlin 1961: Kennedy, Khrushchev and the Most Dangerous Place on Earth, is that domestic politics shapes foreign policy in ways that most historians have failed to adequately recognize. In 1961, when the Berlin Wall went up, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was fighting off challenges of […]

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