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

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. […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 28, 2011

NATO Libya Roundtable: Endgame?

By James Joyner

As NATO and its constituent states sort through the conflicting policy goals and logistics of the mission in Libya, some members of the Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group have offered some insights. What is the coalition’s endgame in Libya? There is considerable ambiguity about the ultimate endgame of coalition operations in Libya. The coalition military […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 28, 2011

NATO Libya Roundtable: A More Martial Europe?

By James Joyner

As NATO and its constituent states sort through the conflicting policy goals and logistics of the mission in Libya, some members of the Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group have offered some insights. From Bob Kagan’s "Power and Paradise" to Bob Gates’ February 2010 speech bemoaning the "demilitarization of Europe," American defense experts have long derided […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 28, 2011

NATO Libya Roundtable: Command and Control

By James Joyner

As NATO and its constituent states sort through the conflicting policy goals and logistics of the mission in Libya, some members of the Atlantic Council Strategic Advisors Group have offered some insights. NATO member states have struggled for days to resolve the debate within the Alliance about the proper role for NATO in the coalition […]

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