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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Experts React

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.

Markup

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 3, 2010

Afghanistan Oversight Failures

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The questions go back and forth between the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl W. Eikenberry, who was once the military commander in Afghanistan; and Special Envoy for "AFPAK" Richard C. Holbrooke, usually airborne

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2010

Balkans Get New Energy Line

By Borut Grgic

Back from the dead, the Balkan economies are picking up steam. Consumers are spending again and managers are expanding their production lines. This is good news, save one problem – energy supply. The Balkan energy markets are insufficiently supplied, not diversified enough, and still over dependent in some case on energy sources that emit unacceptable […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 3, 2010

Restructuring for Long-Term Threats

By Stephen Hadley and William Perry

For the past six months, we led a bipartisan panel of former national security and military leaders in reviewing the document laying out the Defense Department’s plans for the next 20 years. The Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) released this year was prepared by a Pentagon focused on responding to the threats America faces and winning […]

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2010

A Warm Westerly Wind Toward Georgia?

By David Smith

As if driven to Georgia by Zephyrus, ancient god of the westerly wind, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton arrived here in the turn of two weeks. Their visits and encouraging words indicate that a new westerly wind is blowing.

New Atlanticist

Aug 2, 2010

Security Questions in the Caucasus

By Borut Grgic

News.Az interviews Borut Grgic, non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and founder of the trans-Caspian initiative at the EPC in Brussels, and Institute for Strategic Studies in Slovenia.

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2010

Gusher of WikiLeaks

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The WikiLeaks scandal isn’t even a pale carbon copy of the Pentagon Papers 39 years ago that accelerated America’s Vietnam defeat. But even then there was nothing that wasn’t known by the war correspondents covering Vietnam. Deception and disinformation were part of the U.S. arsenal. And the daily afternoon military briefing was known as the […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2010

Interpreting the Stress Tests

By Edward Hugh

Evidently there is now a considerable debate out there about the famous (or should that be infamous) CEBS stress tests. Methodologically all sorts of weaknesses have been identified, but in many cases these are decidedly beside the point. It is important to be aware what the tests were (and weren’t) designed to show. They were, […]

European Union
International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jul 30, 2010

Possible Deliverables at OSCE Summit in Kazakhstan: Part 2

By Vladimir Socor

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is the primary international organization in charge of resolving the Transnistria conflict since 1993. This task forms the basis, and sole raison d’etre, of the OSCE Moldova Mission’s mandate. Russian veto power, however, has prevented the OSCE from making any headway there. Any document on Moldova […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2010

Germany Can’t Afford Military Conscription

By James Joyner

Germany’s new coalition government has cut the period military conscripts must serve from nine months to six. And there’s a fair chance they’ll end mandatory service altogether. It’s about time. There’s little doubt that the draft has long ended its military usefulness. The United States has relied on an all-volunteer force since 1973 and almost […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 29, 2010

EU Hydra: Which Head to Talk To?

By Matthew Czekaj

Since the ratification of the EU Lisbon Treaty, a new joke has been circulating in Brussels: in response to Henry Kissinger’s inquiry as to who to call to speak to ‘Europe,’ that number finally exists.

European Union
International Organizations

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