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
Jul 29, 2025

The Russia pressure menu: Options to convince Putin to negotiate on Ukraine

As the US president cuts his deadline for Russia to ten days, there are several options for him to increase pressure on Moscow to pursue peace.

New Atlanticist
Jul 24, 2025

Dispatch from Manila: A lesson in calling out Chinese maritime aggression

By
Markus Garlauskas, Philip W. Yu

As the Philippines has focused more on Chinese threats to itself, Manila also seems increasingly inclined to see its own security as connected to that of the broader region.

China
Indo-Pacific

New Atlanticist
Jul 1, 2025

The US must enforce sanctions to prevent Iran from rebuilding its nuclear program

By
Kimberly Donovan

To ensure that Tehran cannot get its hands on the financial resources it would need to rebuild its nuclear program, Iran sanctions enforcement should start with China.

Economic Sanctions
Iran

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New Atlanticist

Apr 1, 2010

OSCE: From Ambivalence to Relevance

By Boyko Nitzov

Dr. Boyko Nitzov, Director of Programs for the Atlantic Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, was interviewed by Aliyah Fridman for Azerbaijan’s News.Az.

New Atlanticist

Apr 1, 2010

Franco-Russian Warship Deal Meeting Little Resistance

By Vladimir Socor

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s US visit has carefully been protected against any fallout from his proposed sale of Mistral-class power-projection warships to Russia.

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2010

What’s the Big Fat Deal?

By Harlan Ullman

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s crass congratulatory whisper to President Barack Obama after the House of Representative’s March 21 passage of the healthcare bill was one bookend for an extraordinary presidential week by any account. The other bookend was the president’s surprise visit to Afghanistan, ostensibly to deliver some tough love to President Hamid Karzai […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 31, 2010

Belarus Press Crackdown Puts Westernization on Hold

By Matthew Czekaj

In a bid to ensure its dubious status as “Europe’s last dictatorship,” Belarus has further constrained the rights of its independent journalists.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Mar 30, 2010

Can Obama Save Sarkozy’s Presidency?

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

It will be the best of times and the worst of times for Presidents Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy when they meet at the White House for dinner tonight. Obama is riding a wave of momentum from the passage of historic health care legislation and agreement on an important arms control treaty with Russia.

New Atlanticist

Mar 30, 2010

Pakistan Army Back on Top — But in a New Way

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

It was Pakistan’s week in Washington with much talk of a new, deeper geopolitical understanding between the United States and a "major non-NATO ally." The star was Pakistan’s army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, and the country’s de facto politico-military power. The Pakistani army has taken over from ineffectual, corrupt civilian governments four times since independence. […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 29, 2010

Moscow Subway Bombing Puts Pressure on Putin

By James Joyner

Female suicide bombers have killed at least 38 and wounded many more in a terrorist attack on the Moscow subway this morning. If, as all the circumstantial evidence currently points, this is the work of Chechen extremists, it will be a stern test for the Putin-Medvedev regime. Clifford Levy for NYT ("Subway Blasts Kill Dozens […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 29, 2010

Courting Pakistan: Forging a Strategic Partnership

By Shuja Nawaz

The United States and Pakistan is the world’s oddest couple, with an on-again, off-again friendship that has survived since the 1950s. Last week both sides completed a "strategic dialogue" in Washington amid fears that they were headed for another break-up.

New Atlanticist

Mar 26, 2010

Nuclear Treaty a New START

By James Joyner

The United States and Russia have agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals by a third. This is not only good political theater but actually useful. UPI gives a useful overview of the agreement and rollout: U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev announced agreement Friday on a nuclear arms reduction treaty. The […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 26, 2010

Afghanistan Success Measured in Convoys, Not Car Bombs

By Alexandros Petersen

On February 26, I woke up in Kabul to the sound of a suicide car bomb explosion two blocks away. I ate my full English breakfast amid cacophonous gunfire from the neighborhood park. The Taliban took responsibility for my wake-up call. It is these sorts of events that prompt analysts here to argue that despite […]

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