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 2, 2010

Balancing Middle East Interests

By Don Snow

In a recent CNN appearance, Obama administration official David Axelrod answered a question about American-Israeli relations with the reply that it is the U.S. interest to guarantee “the long-term security of Israel and the region.” It was a standard, boiler plate answer and undoubtedly intended as such: Axelrod, after all, is not a foreign policy […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 2, 2010

Plea for Pakistan

By Harlan Ullman

Last week’s visit of a very high level Pakistani delegation to Washington to meet with their opposite American numbers was at best a first step in a very long, testing and crucial journey essential to bringing a measure of peace, stability and even some prosperity to a volatile and dangerous region. To be blunt, the […]

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.

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