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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New Atlanticist

Jun 8, 2010

Georgia Drifts Away from the West

By Matthew Czekaj

The West is losing Georgia, and the West has only itself to blame. Since the April 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest, at which the Alliance declared that Georgia (and Ukraine) would become a member, Europe and the United States have done almost nothing to more fully integrate the Caucasian country into the transatlantic community. The […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2010

NSS Review: Upholding the Transatlantic Relationship

By Andras Simonyi

The Obama administration’s new National Security Strategy, released last week, has global consequence, reflecting the responsibility of the United States to provide leadership to the free world. It reflects a shift in the mindset of America’s thinking about the world and itself.

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2010

An Indian Perspective on NATO’s Global Role

By Jason Harmala

K. Subrahmanyam, one of India’s leading strategic analysts and journalists, appears in the latest installment of Atlantic Council senior fellow Sarwar Kashmeri’s New Atlanticist Podcast Series to discuss India’s perception of NATO, as well as the possibility of India participating in a greater global security role with NATO.

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2010

An Aiken Solution in Afghanistan?

By Don Snow

This week marked a dubious watershed in the U.S. military effort in Iraq and Afghanistan, as the number of American forces in Afghanistan passed the troop total in Iraq. The Iraq side of the ledger is the result of the continuing withdrawal of American combat forces from that country, and Admiral Mike Mullen promised today […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 4, 2010

Maritime Security Wake-Up Call

By James Joyner

"Our ports and waterways remain woefully vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Nearly a decade after 9/11 revolutionized aviation security, we are long overdue to apply many of those lessons learned to maritime security."

New Atlanticist

Jun 4, 2010

End Of This World?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

North Korea can target, attack and sink a South Korean warship, kill 46 of the South Korean crew but South Korea cannot retaliate without triggering a barrage of shells from North Korea’s 11,000 artillery tubes that can lay waste Seoul, a capital city of 11 million. North Korea is also a rogue nuclear power and […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 4, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill A 9/11 Wake-Up Call?

By Harlan Ullman

The explosion on Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico and subsequent torrent of oil pouring into the gulf could be the United States’ worst environmental catastrophe.

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2010

NSS Review: Europe Given Short Shrift

By Sven Biscop and Thomas Renard

Is the European Union (EU) – or even its Member States – still a key ally for the US? Is the transatlantic alliance in decline?

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2010

NATO or Israel?

By James Joyner

Israel’s attack on a Gaza aid flotilla, killing nine, has earned near-universal condemnation, with even sympathetic observers terming it the act of a bully, tone deaf, staggeringly stupid, tactically incompetent, a major tactical blunder, a moral victory for Hamas, and an unqualified disaster for Israel’s reputation. But Israel is rather accustomed to international scorn and […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 3, 2010

Ukraine Is Not Yet Lost

By Alexandros Petersen and Tamerlan Vahabov

Since this winter’s presidential election, in which pro-Russian Victor Yanukovich emerged the victor, Ukraine has experienced a massive turnaround. Its politics, security policy, cultural and language policies and energy policy all look toward Moscow for guidance. U.S. and European commentators have begun to speak about the loss of Ukraine.

Energy & Environment European Union

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