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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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.

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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

Apr 20, 2010

Africa Reboots

By Bono

I spent March with a delegation of activists, entrepreneurs and policy wonks roaming western, southern and eastern Africa trying very hard to listen — always hard for a big-mouthed Irishman. With duct tape over my gob, I was able to pick up some interesting melody lines everywhere from palace to pavement …Despite the almost deafening […]

Africa

New Atlanticist

Apr 19, 2010

Iceland Volcano Cloud Darkens World Economy

By James Joyner

The recent eruption of a volcano beneath Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull glacier has, thankfully, not cost any human lives. It has, however, caused enormous economic disruption, strained patience, and political infighting.

New Atlanticist

Apr 19, 2010

Maritime Disputes and International Law

By Derek Reveron

When looking at the earth from space, one fact is obvious: Water is the dominant feature. In fact, about 70 percent of the planet is covered by water and a significant portion of the earth is covered by frozen water in the Arctic and Antarctica. Water is so prevalent that the astronomer and writer Carl […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 19, 2010

The New START Treaty

By David Smith

The new START Treaty, signed April 8 in Prague castle, would reduce strategic nuclear warheads by 30 percent compared with the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty and delivery vehicles by 50 percent compared with the 1991 START I Treaty.

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2010

Can the West Trust Viktor Yanukovych?

By Damon Wilson

U.S. President Barack Obama got his first look this week at Ukraine’s new president, Viktor Yanukovych. As the Moscow-backed candidate who “won” the 2004 presidential election only to be defeated in the Orange Revolution, Yanukovych has some work to do on his image in the West, where many still see him as a tool of […]

NATO Nuclear Nonproliferation

New Atlanticist

Apr 16, 2010

Georgia 2010 as Cyprus 1974

By Nikolas Gvosdev

Speaking at the Atlantic Council yesterday, President Mikheil Saakashvili outlined his vision for Georgia’s future. Listening to it, I was struck by similarities to the approach that Cyprus took after the 1974 invasion and occupation of the northern third of the island and Saakashvili’s handling of South Ossetia and Abkhazia after the 2008 Russian invasion.

New Atlanticist

Apr 15, 2010

Nuclear Energy: Think Small

By Dave Schuler

Just for moment let’s consider, in quick bullet fashion, some of the energy problems we face: We continue to need increasing amounts of energy. Increased energy means increased prosperity. Simple as that. Much of our energy is currently produced by burning fossil fuels, e.g. coal, oil, or natural gas. We’re importing an increasing proportion of […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 15, 2010

Nigeria: Internal Stability and International Order

By Martin Kimani

“Clean!” was Nigerian Acting President Goodluck Jonathan’s emphatic response when asked for a promise about the upcoming 2011 elections. At the formal launch of the Atlantic Council’s Ansari Africa Center, Dr. Jonathan spoke to a standing room only crowd about his vision for good governance and accountability, youth and hope, peace and security. The speech […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 15, 2010

Africa: Partner or Problem?

By Nikolas Gvosdev

Had there been more time, I would have be interested in pursuing some of the tantalizing statements about Nigeria’s foreign policy that Acting President Goodluck Jonathan made in his remarks launching the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center yesterday.

New Atlanticist

Apr 14, 2010

Viktor Yanukovych Goes to Washington

By Adrian Karatnycky

Reading the Kyiv Post and many of Ukraine’s other newsweeklies, one gets the impression that a measure of hysteria has seized normally sober-minded and serious analysts. Respected analysts speak in dire terms of a wholesale sellout of Ukraine to Russia and of the consolidation of dictatorship.

Ukraine

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