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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Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

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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

Dec 22, 2010

5 Questions for Boro Vucinic

By Damon Wilson and Matthew Czekaj

Boro Vucinic has served as Montenegro’s minister of defense since November 2006. We had the opportunity to get his thoughts on some key issues of interest to our community.

New Atlanticist

Dec 22, 2010

Pakistan At The Brink

By Harlan Ullman

To many observers, Pakistan has long been at the brink of an existential crisis, much of it due to a growing insurgency exacerbated by the war in Afghanistan. But now the economy is in crisis, too. The catastrophic floods have imploded the struggling economy raising the specter of frightening consequences. Compounding that crisis is uncertainty […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 21, 2010

West Dominant But Divided

By Kenneth Weisbrode

Financial Times columnist Philip Stephens argues we are "On the way to a New Global Balance” in which China, India, Turkey, Indonesia and perhaps others are gaining fast in the race to the top.

New Atlanticist

Dec 20, 2010

Deadly Kabuki in Korea

By Don Snow

The current crisis between the Koreas is now over a month old, with the North and South Koreans gnashing their rhetorical teeth and one another and the world wondering if this could be the onset of a second Korean War. The current flap began last month over the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, a part of […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 20, 2010

Pakistan’s Extremist Havens

By James Joyner

Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, gave a long interview to PBS NewsHour on the subject "Pakistan’s Extremist Havens: What Options Does U.S. Have?"

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2010

Merkel Wins Again

By James Joyner

Even as Angela Merkel continues to suffer defeats within her own governing coalition in Germany, she has once again imposed her will on the EU, forcing austerity rather than additional bailouts to deal with the ongoing fiscal crisis in the eurozone.

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2010

“Resetting” the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process?

By Don Snow

It comes as no revelation to report that the efforts of the Obama administration to move the on-again, but mostly off-again peace process between Israel and the Palestinians is currently going nowhere.

New Atlanticist

Dec 15, 2010

WikiLeaks and the Specter of Cyber War

By Harlan Ullman

Karl Marx proclaimed that a “specter was haunting Europe.” But it took decades before the specter of socialism became a reality in the formation of the Soviet Union. Today, a “cyberspecter” haunts us. We better be alert to it because we don’t have decades to wait. Cyberwar, computer hacking and the information revolution are well-worn […]

Cybersecurity
Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Dec 14, 2010

AfPak After Holbrooke: Replacing an Irreplaceable Man

By Shuja Nawaz

The untimely passage of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke leaves big shoes to fill in the AfPak region. It may take two men to replace him. In a column that Holbrooke wrote for the Washington Post in March 2008, entitled "Hope in Pakistan: the problems are real, but so is progress" he captured the essence of the […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 14, 2010

Richard Holbrooke, 1941-2010

By The Editors

Richard Holbrooke, a distinguished American statesman who served two terms on the Atlantic Council’s Board of Directors in between high government posts, has died. He was 69. Among those commenting on Holbrooke’s lifetime of service: President Barack Obama: Michelle and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Richard Holbrooke, a true giant of American […]

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