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.

Global Challenges Absent from New Strategic Concept

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

Nov 22, 2010

Global Challenges Absent from New Strategic Concept

By Rob de Wijk

NATO’s new Strategic Concept seeks to explain how the Alliance will address 21st century security challenges including energy security, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to rogue actors, terrorism, and cyber security. But the document should also have taken into account the dramatic new security challenges that will change the world and will impact the […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 22, 2010

NATO Summit Reality Check: Brilliant Policy vs. Real World Resistance

By Kurt Volker

The recently concluded NATO summit did all the right things: outline an ambitious role for NATO in a complex world; renew and recalibrate NATO’s role in Afghanistan; relaunch the NATO-Russia Council; and even move the ball forward on missile defense. This will now be followed by negotiations on implementation documents. To someone who has worked […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 21, 2010

NATO’s Lisbon Summit: All the Right Words

By James Joyner

NATO’s Lisbon Summit exceeded all reasonable expectations. Yet it leaves critical questions about the Alliance unanswered. Once upon a time, the meeting was supposed to launch a new NATO, building on the experience in Afghanistan and forging a path for the decade to come. But the combination of disillusionment with that mission and the devastating […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Nov 21, 2010

The Lisbon Summit: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

By Ian Brzezinski

Good: The new Strategic Concept is a good document. It uses firm language to reassert the centrality of NATO’s Article 5 security commitment, affirm the Alliance’s role in guarding against today’s wide array of multi-dimensional threats, and formalize NATO’s roles in crisis management and prevention.

New Atlanticist

Nov 20, 2010

NATO Summit Reaction, Day 2

By Damon Wilson

On the second day of the NATO Summit in Lisbon, Allied leaders approved the Lisbon Declaration, providing an action plan to implement the Strategic Concept in the months ahead and agreed to reconvene in the United States in 2012. They also met with President Karzai and NATO’s partners in Afghanistan to endorse a strategy to […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 20, 2010

NATO Should Focus More on Conventional Arms Control in Europe

By Donald Bandler and Jakub Kulhanek

With the new strategic concept and a revitalized partnership with Russia at hand, it appears that the Alliance is poised to enter a new era with a regained sense of purpose in the aftermath of the Lisbon summit. However, as the West is bent on winding down its military presence in Afghanistan, NATO leaders are […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 20, 2010

Ashraf Ghani: UN Should Get Out of Afghanistan

By Mark Leon Goldberg

A top advisor to president Hamid Karzai stridently criticized the United Nations Mission in Afghaintan (UNAMA) in a panel discussion I moderated yesterday afternoon on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Lisbon. Dr. Ashraf Ghani is the chairman of a commission on transition, responsible for overseeing the transfer of responsibilities to Afghans from the […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO Summit Reaction, Day 1

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

Today in Lisbon, Alliance leaders met to approve a new Strategic Concept that reconfirms NATO’s purpose to safeguard members’ freedom and security and modernizes the Alliance to face new threats, with new capabilities and new partners. Atlantic Council team members offer their expert insights and analysis on the outcomes of the summit. Visit our online […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO: New Strategic Concept, Same Old Alliance

By James Joyner

The long awaited new strategic concept, launching what has been termed "NATO 3.0," has been published under the banner "Active Engagement, Modern Defense." The document is ambitious, committing the "Alliance to prevent crises, manage conflicts and stabilize post-conflict situations, including by working more closely with our international partners, most importantly the United Nations and the […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 19, 2010

NATO’s Top Challenges

By Damon Wilson and Jeffrey Lightfoot

As Alliance leaders gather in Lisbon, they must be able to address these top challenges in order to declare Lisbon a success: Transition in Afghanistan: Will NATO project a united front on transition of the ISAF mission to Afghan security forces, or will the Allies appear to be rushing for the exits under political pressure […]

Cybersecurity Security & Defense

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