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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New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2009

Afghanistan: Cutting Our Losses

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Not one of the 42 nations involved on the ground in Afghanistan wants to stay the course until the birth of a new nation, cleansed of Taliban insurgents, and a reasonable facsimile of democratic rule. To begin with, no one believes this would be possible short of another 10-year commitment. And untold billions more in […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2009

Professional Ambassadors Needed

By James Joyner

Barack Obama campaigned promising to end the Washington influence game if elected president but, thus far, he’s handing out ambassadorial spoils with as much enthusiasm as any of his predecessors.

New Atlanticist

Oct 30, 2009

Obama’s Europe Neglect Could Bring Bush Nostalgia

By James Joyner

U.S. President Barack Obama is so beloved in Europe that he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize (which he later won) just 12 days after taking office for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples.”

New Atlanticist

Oct 29, 2009

The Goldstone Report and Israel-Palestine Peace

By Etan Schwartz

Israel articulated three main objectives when it started its offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip last winter: stop the rocket fire into southern Israel, weaken the security infrastructure of Hamas in Gaza, and restore the deterrence that it felt had been lost after enduring years of rocket attacks, as well as the kidnapping of its […]

Israel Middle East

New Atlanticist

Oct 29, 2009

Juncker Enters the EU Presidency Fray

By Benjamin Preisler

With Jean-Claude Juncker, a powerful European voice has stepped forward in an attempt to prevent Tony Blair’s candidacy for the EU Presidency from gaining steam.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 28, 2009

Rajon Menon Afghanistan Elections Interview

By James Joyner

Sarwar Kashmeri, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program, has interviewed Rajan Menon, Monroe J. Rathbone Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University, for the New Atlanticist Podcast series. Menon recently penned an oped titled “Nobody wins in the Afghan runoff election” for the Los Angeles Times.

New Atlanticist

Oct 28, 2009

Influenza and International Security

By Derek Reveron

Earlier this year, a novel influenza captured the world’s attention when what became known as “swine flu” or H1N1 (hemagglutinin type 1 and neuraminidase type 1) emerged in La Gloria, Mexico.

New Atlanticist

Oct 28, 2009

Where is Richard Holbrooke on Afghanistan?

By Harlan Ullman

As the Obama administration agonizes over Afghanistan and a flurry of insurgent attacks in neighboring Pakistan rocks that country, Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke has become, surprisingly, nearly invisible. When it came to convincing, cajoling or coercing Afghan President Hamid Karzai to accept the inevitability of a runoff election, who did the heavy lifting?

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2009

French Rebound Continues While Germany Moves Sideways

By Edward Hugh

Whoever would have thought that some people once called economics the most dismal of sciences? Certainly, as the current crisis goes on and on, those of us who consider ourselves to be economists scarcely are able to find the time to squeeze in a dull moment, even here and there. But even at a broader […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 27, 2009

Afghanistan: A Modest Case for Dithering

By Alex Massie

My old chum, and former boss, Iain Martin writes that time is, in fact, of the essence in Afghanistan and that Barack Obama needs to make a decision:

Afghanistan

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