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.

NATO Missile Defense: An American Affair

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

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 […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 12, 2010

Killing Olive Trees and Peace Prospects

By Don Snow

The essentially cadaverous Palestinian-Israeli “peace process” took another of its periodic turns away from any meaningful or likely movement in the direction of a peace settlement in the past week, after the equally ritualistic and doomed staging of another peace meeting in Washington last month

New Atlanticist

Oct 8, 2010

Rebuilding Central Europe

By Kurt Volker

Central Europeans are known for their persistent pessimism. An old Hungarian joke sums it up well: "We know that next year is going to be an average year – because it’s going to be worse than this year, but better than the year after that." That glass-half-empty mentality was on public display in July 2009, […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2010

Kyrgyzstan’s Historic Elections: A Guide

By Meerim Abdieva and Ross Wilson

Kyrgyzstan’s political drama that began with the overthrow of President Bakiyev in April, violent ethnic clashes in the country’s south in June, and a constitutional referendum two weeks later reaches it next pivot point in parliamentary elections that take place on Sunday.

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2010

The Case Against the Case Against NATO

By James Joyner

Daniel Larison‘s "The Case Against NATO" makes compelling reading. Here’s why it’s wrong. Larison charges: In the end, the main argument for perpetuating the NATO relic is that it provides the support structure for projecting power into remote parts of the globe where American interests are even less clearly defined. In other words, what once was […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 6, 2010

Repairing NATO-Pakistan Relations

By Derek Reveron Nikolas Gvosdev and Hayat Alvi

Recent attacks on NATO supply lines in Pakistan and Pakistan’s official suspension of access through the Khyber Pass really underscore the challenges facing NATO in Afghanistan. Shuja Nawaz recently explained This situation could easily careen out of control. The Obama administration, which is unhappy with what it perceives as Pakistan’s lack of action against anti-American […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 6, 2010

Pakistan: Is It Over, Over There?

By Harlan Ullman

Just when it seemed that things could not get worse, they do. One would have thought that given the ongoing catastrophic floods, conditions in Pakistan were at a nadir. But last week, several incidents lowered even that bar regarding U.S.-Pakistani ties. NATO forces in Afghanistan made two unauthorized incursions into Pakistan, the second killing three […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 5, 2010

Pipeline Politics Play Out in Istanbul

By Alexandros Petersen

The Southern Corridor, the planned natural gas link to non-Russian resources in the Caspian and Middle East, will largely determine the future energy security of the European Union. At the moment, the corridor is merely a concept. Only piecemeal infrastructure is in place on the ground in Turkey, which is the key bridge between gas […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 5, 2010

NATO’s Future: An Adaptable and Unifying Strategic Concept

By David Capezza

Over the course of the last few years, NATO member states have been pondering the very future and relevance of the transatlantic organization.

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