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.

Ukraine Partition Debate Irresponsible and Dangerous

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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

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.

Content

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2010

Ukraine Partition Debate Irresponsible and Dangerous

By Adrian Karatnycky

Every scholar, writer, or intellectual takes on serious obligations toward the reader when he or she engages in speculation or hypothesis. Among the most important of these obligations is to assess the probability of his proposition and, if the probability is remote, to be cognizant the consequences and uses of his exercise in speculative analysis.

Russia Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2010

Prime Minister Obama?

By Harlan Ullman

Whether through dramatic events or the power of personality, presidents change the course of the nation. Lincoln (the Civil War); FDR (The New Deal and winning World War II); and LBJ (The Great Society, civil rights and the Vietnam debacle) are prime examples. Now, President Barack Obama could join this select group. And, for better […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2010

Lord Robertson: Time for Grown-up Argument on NATO Resources

By James Joyner

Lord Robertson believes that it is time for NATO to take "a less gentlemanly approach to capabilities" and to "be honest and brutal" that much of the current defense budgets are "a pure waste of taxpayer’s money."

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2010

Lord Robertson: If We Lose in Afghanistan, They Will Be Back Over Here

By James Joyner

Asked by Atlantic Council president Fred Kempe to explain to Europeans why they should continue fighting and dying in Afghanistan, Lord Robertson replied that the initial case was "If we don’t go to Afghanistan it will come to us." Now, it’s, "If you lose there, they will be back over here again" as they were […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 3, 2010

Lord Robertson: NATO on Edge of a Precipice

By James Joyner

Lord George Robertson, NATO Secretary General from 1999 to 2004, says that the Alliance and its constituent members are "on the edge of a precipice looking down on a world of growing disorder and discontent and only blunt talk and straight language will save us from falling over."

New Atlanticist

Mar 2, 2010

Erdogan vs the Generals: Turkey’s Political Future in the Balance

By James Joyner

The ongoing clash between the Erdogan government and the military brass has spotlighted longstanding tensions in Turkey’s political and social culture and even has some wondering whether a military coup remains a possibility in a country with one foot in the West and one in the East. Thankfully, early signs point to a victory for […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 2, 2010

Estonia in NATO

By Kurt Volker

A small country has its advantages, if it knows how to use them. With less bureaucracy and fewer actors, most of whom have known each other for years, a small country can sometimes be more nimble and strategic than a large one. Of course there can be disadvantages and vulnerabilities as well – but that’s […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 1, 2010

French Burqa Ban Widely Supported in Europe

By James Joyner

As France goes ahead with its ban on the wearing of the burqa, a new FT-Harris poll shows majority support for doing the same in the UK, Italy, Spain, and Germany — and strong opposition in the United States.

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Mar 1, 2010

The Ukrainian ‘W’

By Alexander Motyl

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych bears a striking resemblance to former President George W. Bush. Although Bush was born rich and Yanukovych poor, both were rowdy as youths, with the former drinking and carousing and the latter serving two jail terms for hooliganism.

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Feb 26, 2010

Dutch Afghanistan Exit a Game Changer

By Julian Lindley-French and Kurt Volker

The Dutch Government has fallen over Afghanistan. As a result the August 2010 withdrawal of Dutch forces from Uruzghan, the Afghan province into which the Netherlands has invested money and lives for eight years, will be confirmed.

Share

Issue briefs and reports