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

Dec 21, 2009

Ending the Culture of Suspicion

By Shuja Nawaz

The 21st century has ushered in changes in the global political landscape that demand a transformation of the mindset of policymakers around the globe. NATO and the European Union no longer inhabit a world of black and white, with a clear and defined set of antagonists and allies. Global issues that bring together North America […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 18, 2009

European Energy Policy Needed

By Borut Grgic

Late to the Caspian energy game, China is the first to plug in in a big way. This weekend, only two years after the project was announced, Chinese President Hu Jintao opened the 1140-mile long pipeline that will carry up to 40 bcm of gas from Turkmenistan to China. This is a huge boon for […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 18, 2009

Iraqi Oil Contracts: Did America Lose Out?

By Don Snow

The announcement last week that the Iraqi government had awarded foreign contracts for the exploitation of a number of its oil fields created a remarkably mild, one-day reaction in the popular press. The gist of the awards, of course, was that virtually everybody, from the Russians and Chinese to the Malaysians and Angolans, were given […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Dec 18, 2009

NATO Steps up to the Plate

By Damon Wilson

Afghanistan has eroded support for NATO in Washington. An alliance that has long enjoyed strong bipartisan support is now facing bipartisan skepticism.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2009

Pakistan’s Year of Decision

By Shuja Nawaz

Even in its waning days, 2009 continues to be a ‘Year of Decision’ in Pakistan, as its fractured polity struggles to right the ship of state while tackling the rising insurgencies inside its borders. This was the year that Pakistan took the battle to the insurgency, first in Swat and Malakand and then into the […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2009

Iran Could Learn from China’s New Economic Model

By Donald Bandler and Ralph Winnie

The recent demonstrations by pro-democracy activists should provide a clear warning to President Mahmud Ahmadinejad and the Iranian mullahs, who are responsible for maintaining his authority, that the regime must address the social and economic concerns of its well-educated populace if it wants to stay in power.

New Atlanticist

Dec 17, 2009

Yet More Delays for Nabucco

By Alexandros Petersen

The latest act in the opera that is Eurasian pipeline geopolitics was a so-called informal Caspian summit outside the Kazakh port city of Aktau.

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2009

Stratcon 2010: A Military Route to Freedom?

By Julian Lindley-French

As NATO establishes a new Strategic Concept, the Alliance is re-focusing on its political and military purpose: to defend freedom in the face of those without ethics.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2009

Is Pakistan Too Big to Fail?

By Harlan Ullman

The best-known sound bites from the George W. Bush presidency ranged from “mission accomplished” to “you are either with us or against us.” For the moment and given the financial crises, the equivalent slogan from President Barack Obama’s young administration is “too big to fail.”

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Dec 16, 2009

Turkey’s Role in Resolving Nagorno-Karabakh

By Alexandros Petersen

Alexandros Petersen, nonresident senior fellow at the Council’s Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center, was interviewed by Leyla Tagiyeva of Azerbaijan’s News.Az on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

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