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

Aug 18, 2010

Why We Need Big Oil

By Alexandros Petersen

In the aftermath of the largest oil spill in history, Big Oil — never the greatest of PR cases — has lost most of the few friends it ever had. When BP — whose assets stretch from Azerbaijan to Libya to the Alaskan Arctic — announced last month that it was planning to shrink in […]

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Aug 18, 2010

Pakistani SOS

By Harlan Ullman

If Shakespeare were to write a tragedy today, it could well begin: “Alas poor Pakistan. I knew it well.” Facing existential economic and security threats, it hardly needed a third, in this case the catastrophic “super flood” that became a massive water sword slashing through Pakistan’s underbelly. Estimates are that as many as 20 million […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 18, 2010

Orange Peels: Ukraine after Revolution

By Adrian Karatnycky

Five years ago, post-Soviet Ukraine, a critically placed country of some 46 million people, seemed to be on the fast track toward modernity. The Orange Revolution, the spontaneous mass protests of fraud in Ukraine’s November 2004 presidential election, presaged a mature civil society and free media. The protests led to the election of Viktor Yushchenko, […]

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Aug 17, 2010

German Economy Surges by Defying Stimulus Strategy: View from Europe

By Scott Bleiweis

Many of the world’s largest economies, the U.S. included, have trumpeted the necessity of increasing spending to jumpstart growth. Meanwhile Europe’s largest economy, Germany, defiantly stuck to its plan of spending cuts, limited unemployment benefits, and a focus on exports. Though widely questioned for its economically conservative policies, Germany is now having the last laugh: […]

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Aug 17, 2010

What Battle for Hearts and Minds?

By Raymond Pritchett

I spent some of the day going over the figures regarding the damage in Pakistan, and the damage that has taken place over the last several days of the monsoon season is beyond what any single nuclear weapon is capable of. Even more interesting, the areas impacted in Pakistan are the areas that every single […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 17, 2010

America’s Nuclear Future

By Kurt Volker

"We should build a new framework for civil nuclear cooperation, including an international fuel bank, so that countries can access peaceful power without increasing the risks of proliferation. … We must harness the power of nuclear energy on behalf of our efforts to combat climate change, and to advance peace and opportunity for all people." […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2010

Petreaus’ Afghanistan Media Tour

By James Joyner

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2010

Flood Gives Pakistan, U.S. Chance to Build Bridges

By Shuja Nawaz

The fierce flooding in northwest Pakistan is a catastrophe that’s killed more than 1,000 people, left thousands homeless and millions more in desperate need of aid. Does the disaster also create an opportunity for Pakistan and the United States to win hearts and minds with food and assistance? NPR’s Scott Simon talks with Shuja Nawaz, […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 16, 2010

Case for Military Jointness Throughout Government

By Sebestyen L. V. Gorka

Sooner or later it was bound to happen, as even a hyperpower has limits. After nine years, the United States is reassessing its commitment to the longest war it has to date prosecuted.

New Atlanticist

Aug 13, 2010

Helping Pakistan Helps Ourselves

By James Joyner

As my colleague Shuja Nawaz has eloquently argued, massive American aid to help Pakistan recover from the humanitarian disaster of the recent flooding "may help improve America’s image among a population that generally resents the United States." But the converse is true, too: doing too little will bolster the Taliban.

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