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.

Sarkozy Finds a Cause Worth Fighting For

New Atlanticist
Mar 6, 2025

How European leaders are responding to Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Europe

From London and Berlin to Paris and Brussels, European leaders have taken several notable steps this week on security. This follows the blow-up between the Ukrainian and US presidents on February 28.

New Atlanticist
Feb 26, 2025

Why the US should not lift sanctions against Russia

By
Charles Lichfield

Sanctions are having an unmistakable effect, albeit below the inflated expectations of many in the West in early 2022. Lifting them now would be a mistake.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist
Mar 5, 2025

The Egyptian plan for postwar Gaza is a good starting point—but it needs changes

By
Thomas S. Warrick

While many obstacles remain, the Egyptian proposal could form the starting point for negotiations over a workable plan for postwar Gaza.

Conflict
Crisis Management

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New Atlanticist

Oct 18, 2010

Sarkozy Finds a Cause Worth Fighting For

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

2010 has been a brutal year for French President Nicolas Sarkozy. His UMP party suffered a major setback in regional elections in March. His budget minister has been at the center of a series of murky scandals involving the heiress of the L’Oréal fortune. And his approval ratings have fallen to 30 percent, the lowest […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 18, 2010

Counterrevolution in Ukraine

By Alexander Motyl

Almost six years after it began, the Orange Revolution formally ended on October 1, 2010, when Ukraine’s constitutional court reversed the “political reform” imposed on the presidency as part of the popular democracy movement’s uprising.

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Oct 15, 2010

NATO’s Obsolescence is Greatly Exaggerated

By James Joyner

Daniel Larison responds to "The Case Against the Case Against NATO" with a strong Realist rebuttal. But it continues to conflate legitimate concerns about American interventionism with the Alliance itself.

New Atlanticist

Oct 15, 2010

COIN Is Dead

By Michael Cohen

Fred Kaplan notices something about that whole COIN strategy in Afghanistan – it ain’t working and the US military is moving on

New Atlanticist

Oct 14, 2010

Worms of Mass Destruction

By Harlan Ullman

The alarms are deafening but who is listening? U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn wrote a remarkable piece in Foreign Affairs warning of the threats and dangers posed by cyberattacks. Shortly thereafter, as if on cue, the Stuxtnet worm struck Iran. Its target was controllers made by Siemens that Iran is using in its […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Oct 14, 2010

Pakistan: Dissension in the Ranks

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Pakistan’s most prominent — and vocal — retired chiefs of the army are demanding that the country’s air force be ordered to shoot down drones and helicopters — and increasingly angry active duty officers are voicing their approval in off-the-record conversations with Pakistani journalists. The country’s senior generals on active duty are being blasted as […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 13, 2010

Fueling Growth in Asia: Energy, Investment, and a Home-Grown Middle Class

By Boyko Nitzov and Rustam Makhmudov

Many would argue that export-oriented Asian economies are the paragon of economic success and an engine of global growth. Plenty of evidence supports this opinion: the economies of China and India grew by 10-11% and 6-7% annually for the greater part of the last ten years, and even when the global financial crisis induced a […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 13, 2010

5 Questions for Kurt Volker

By Jorge Benitez

Kurt Volker is a senior adviser at the Atlantic Council and member of the Council’s Strategic Advisors Group. He is also a former US ambassador to NATO and current managing director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies. I had the opportunity to discuss his thoughts on some […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 12, 2010

NATO Missile Defense: An American Affair

By James Joyner

A consistent theme of today’s "Transatlantic Missile Defense" conference hosted by the Atlantic Council was the extent to which the United States dominates the domain.

New Atlanticist

Oct 12, 2010

Mistral Between Scylla and Charybdis

By David Smith

As French officials sat on the beaches of the Côte d’Azur last August, some no doubt thought that they were on a well-earned break from negotiations to sell Mistral amphibious assault ships to Russia. Imagine their surprise when a northeast wind kicked up the seas, instantly transforming what they thought were nearly concluded exclusive negotiations […]

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