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
Mar 6, 2025

How European leaders are responding to Trump’s approach to Ukraine and Europe

From London and Berlin to Paris and Brussels, European leaders have taken several notable steps this week on security. This follows the blow-up between the Ukrainian and US presidents on February 28.

New Atlanticist
Feb 26, 2025

Why the US should not lift sanctions against Russia

By
Charles Lichfield

Sanctions are having an unmistakable effect, albeit below the inflated expectations of many in the West in early 2022. Lifting them now would be a mistake.

Conflict
Economic Sanctions

New Atlanticist
Mar 5, 2025

The Egyptian plan for postwar Gaza is a good starting point—but it needs changes

By
Thomas S. Warrick

While many obstacles remain, the Egyptian proposal could form the starting point for negotiations over a workable plan for postwar Gaza.

Conflict
Crisis Management

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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

Jan 7, 2010

South Asia in 2010: A Region in Flux

By M.J. Akbar

2010 will be a year of confusion, further confounded by ongoing violence, for west-south-central Asia. The region will be in flux, shifting from nowhere to nowhere, rather than in a transition for which the journey is charted and the destination known.

New Atlanticist

Jan 6, 2010

South Asia in 2010: Shoals Ahead

By Shuja Nawaz

2009 was a year of major decisions in South Asia, especially in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater, as local populations and governments took decisive actions.

New Atlanticist

Jan 6, 2010

South Asia in 2010: A Pivotal Year

By Jonathan Paris

In addition to the obvious trouble spots – Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict – the countries that will preoccupy the Obama administration in the coming year are the PITEY nations: Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Yemen.

New Atlanticist

Jan 6, 2010

Strategic Incompetence: The Greater Threat?

By Harlan Ullman

To most Americans, with deference to climate change and Iran, the major national security threat to the nation emanates from al-Qaida. Yet strategic incompetence on our part may be a greater danger. This characteristic is not new.

New Atlanticist

Jan 5, 2010

What Yemen Tells Us About Afghanistan

By Douglas Farah

The recent and growing attention to the critical situation in Yemen, where al Qaeda’s presence is spreading and the government is weak and does not control much of the physical space, is perhaps the best argument for pursuing a vigorous Afghanistan policy.

Yemen

New Atlanticist

Jan 5, 2010

Assessing the Thwarted Christmas Attack

By Bernard Finel

The details of the thwarted attack on Northwest 253 on Christmas are still emerging. Nevertheless, there are several issues worth exploring even as investigations continue. Many commentators seem to feel that this event requires a major rethinking of our approach to counter-terrorism.

New Atlanticist

Jan 5, 2010

Time to Retire the Russia Reset Button

By Nikolas Gvosdev

In 2010, one New Year’s resolution for the Obama administration would be to retire the entire “Russia reset” meme. From its ill-omened launch with the presentation of a button by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov – inscribed in Latin (not Cyrillic) letters with a Russian word that implies a party […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Jan 5, 2010

Progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

By Alexandros Petersen

Alexandros Petersen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, was interviewed by Azerbaijan’s Today.az on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

New Atlanticist

Jan 4, 2010

Mark Mardell Interview: Part II

By James Joyner

Sarwar Kashmeri, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program, continues his interview with Mark Mardell, North America editor of the BBC, for the New Atlanticist Podcast Series. In this second installment, Mardell discussed relations between NATO allies.

New Atlanticist

Jan 4, 2010

Unholy War in Cyberspace

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

For America’s 16 intelligence agencies, employing some 100,000 spies and analysts with a budget of $50 billion, it is almost mission impossible to figure out what terrorists and would-be terrorists are up to in cyberspace.

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