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

Mar 8, 2010

Iraq Vote Hype Premature

By Don Snow

Iraqis went to the polls this weekend in long-anticipated and amidst much analysis and predictions. Given the trillion-plus dollars the United States has dropped in Iraq, our interest in seeing how well we have invested is not surprising.

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2010

Are Nuclear Weapons Obsolete?

By James Joyner

Do all sane people agree that a nuclear weapons-free world would be best? Are nuclear weapons militarily obsolete, desirable only for political posturing? That seems to be the consensus of an influential group of European leaders making the rounds in Washington this week. Earlier this week, the Atlantic Council hosted a delegation from the Pugwash […]

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2010

Armenia Genocide: Turkey Relations Damaged Over History Lesson

By James Joyner

Once again, the United States Congress — famously unable to reach accord on even simple matters of domestic policy — has spent its precious time making a point of officially calling the Armenian genocide of 1915-17 genocide.

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2010

Evaluating a “Surge”

By Don Snow

Since the American offensive in Iraq in 2007 designed to suppress the Sunni-led insurgency in central Iraq, the term "surge" has entered the lexicon of American military activities, achieving an almost iconic position as the answer to multiple politico-military problems.

New Atlanticist

Mar 5, 2010

Is Qatar the New Dubai?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

For years, the new Hong Kong was Dubai, one of seven United Arab Emirates and a one-time smuggling port on the Persian Gulf, now the latest casualty of "Wild East" casino capitalism.

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2010

Iran: China 1972 or Russia 1987?

By James Joyner

Should the United States try to reach a grand rapprochement with Iran in the manner of our opening to China under Nixon? Or should we instead overtly support domestic reformers and try to topple the regime as we did with the Soviet Union under Reagan?

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 […]

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