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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.

American Security Attitudes Driving 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.

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American Security Attitudes Driving Policy

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

American Security Attitudes Driving Policy

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

Jan 25, 2010

American Security Attitudes Driving Policy

By Derek Reveron

The  results of the latest Pew-CFR quadrennial survey of public and elite attitudes on foreign policy are startling not only for the gap between public and elite attitudes on international security, but also for the types of concerns held by the average American. Simply, Americans feel scared, wary, and alone.

New Atlanticist

Jan 22, 2010

America’s Global Fatigue

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

The 9.2 magnitude earthquake that triggered the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami claimed some 230,000 lives in 13 countries. But the Port-au-Prince 7.0 quake may exceed that toll in one small country.

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Jan 22, 2010

EU Energy Security May Depend on Ukraine Election Runoff

By Alexandros Petersen

This winter may not see a natural-gas crisis in Ukraine, but then again, the country’s presidential election isn’t over. The outcome of the February 7 second round runoff may well determine whether the gas crises continue, and by extension, shape the future of European energy consumption.

Energy & Environment
European Union

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2010

India and Pakistan: Deadlines for Dialogue

By Suhasini Haidar

As a slew of new informal initiatives try to build a "roadmap" for a new India-Pakistan dialogue, it may be time to look at some of the circumstances in which dialogue has been derailed in the past — and hunt clues for the future.

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2010

Government Accountability and National Security Not a Trade-Off

By Bernard Finel

"FBI agents seeking phone records used ‘startling’ methods," a recent Washington Post article said.

New Atlanticist

Jan 20, 2010

What to Do about Yemen?

By Don Snow

The revelations that the Ft. Hood massacre committed by US Army Major Nidal Malik Hassan and the Christmas underwear bombing attempt by Nigerian Umar Frouk Abdulmutallab may have been inspired by the rhetoric of an expatriate American living in Yemen (Anwar al-Maliki) placed that poor country on the southern end of the Arabian peninsula in […]

Yemen

New Atlanticist

Jan 20, 2010

More Than “Hearts and Minds” Needed to Counter Terrorism

By Harlan Ullman

The phrase “winning hearts and minds” is a simplistic and dangerous cliche reflecting a certain naivete in American thinking that everyone yearns to be like us.

New Atlanticist

Jan 19, 2010

Ukraine Election: A Yushchenko Post-Mortem

By Adrian Karatnycky

Orange Revolution hero Viktor Yushchenko has been rejected decisively by Ukraine’s voters in the January 17th vote. However, this repudiation should not prevent us from seeing some his enduring successes, even as we acknowledge his failings.

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Jan 19, 2010

Giving Futurism a Bad Name

By Robert Manning

When a major publisher publishes a book by an author whose book jacket describes him as “a renowned expert in geopolitics and forecasting,” one might be expected to take it seriously.  Indeed, George Friedman’s The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century was dutifully reviewed by mainstream reviewers as such when Doubleday released […]

New Atlanticist

Jan 19, 2010

Wall Street’s Lobbyists

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

In his classic "Bonfire of the Vanities," Tom Wolfe’s Masters of the Universe were thinly disguised Wall Street megalomaniacs suffering from gluttonous edacity. Today, there is no longer any need for disguise.

Economy & Business
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