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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New Atlanticist

Oct 8, 2009

Afghanistan: The Options Debate

By Don Snow

During the past week, General Stanley McChrystal’s leaked redacted report on his needs for prosecuting the war in Afghanistan has sparked an increasingly public debate about where US policy should be heading. One fascinating aspect of this debate surrounds the leaking of the McChrystal recommendations to Washington Post analyst Bob Woodward: who did it? and […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2009

Stakes are Higher in Pakistan than Afghanistan

By Harlan Ullman

In Afghanistan, the Obama administration faces an array of agonizing choices, none of which is good. Making matters worse, the most important strategic issue is not Afghanistan. The strategic fulcrum in containing and defeating the insurgency that is spilling over and across the Hindu Kush is Pakistan.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2009

Nabucco Edging Ahead of South Stream?

By Alexandros Petersen

At the opening of the Atlantic Council’s Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum in Bucharest on September 30, you couldn’t ask for a better mix of commercial and geopolitical interests when it comes to energy development in Eurasia. But not because the speakers represented a government and the private sector.

Energy & Environment

Steven Everts, Personal Representative, Secretary-General, High Representative for Energy and Foreign Policy, Council of the EU

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2009

The Caspian Comes to Europe

By Alexandros Petersen

If EU policymakers and companies won’t go to Caspian energy producers with serious offers for their hydrocarbons, Caspian producers will just have to go to the EU. This seems to be the message sent by Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan as their state energy companies partner to build an oil pipeline heading to the West.

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Oct 7, 2009

The Russia-Georgia Conflict: An Invasion by Any Other Name

By David Smith

The long awaited European Union-commissioned report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia was published last week. Unsurprisingly, it largely corroborates Georgian accounts of Russia’s August 2008 invasion while blaming Georgia for sparking the conflict.

Russia The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Oct 6, 2009

Jim Jones and Bob Gates: Service in a Polarized Age

By James Joyner

Michael Goldfarb, formerly chief blogger for the McCain campaign, wrote a piece for the Weekly Standard blog with the provocative title “Rent-a-General Jim Jones,” arguing that the man who spent four decades serving his country as an officer in the Marine Corps, rising to Commandant and then Supreme Allied Commander, is a partisan stooge for […]

New Atlanticist

Oct 6, 2009

Capitalizing on the Recession

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

“The American dream fell apart at the seams,” Willie Nelson sang on CNN as he described the plight of small farmers going bust. Almost everything and everyone is fighting for survival in an economy that continues to defy wallops of government stimulus.

Economy & Business

New Atlanticist

Oct 5, 2009

Obama vs. the Generals

By James Joyner

The underground clash between General Stanley McChrystal and the Obama administration has kicked into high gear, with two more four-stars joining the fight: CENTCOM chief David Petraeus and National Security Advisor Jim Jones.

New Atlanticist

Oct 2, 2009

Whither Europe’s Left?

By James Joyner

The magnitude of the win of Angela Merkel’s coalition, coming on the heels of a center-right romp in the recent European Parliament elections and the ouster of several socialist-leaning governments in recent months, has spawned much hand-wringing about the decline of Europe’s Left.

Germany

New Atlanticist

Oct 2, 2009

Black Sea to Supply Europe’s Energy?

By Alexandros Petersen

The Black Sea region could replace Russia as Europe’s primary source of energy in the coming decades. Speaking on October 1 at the Atlantic Council’s Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum (BSEEF), Mehmet Uysal, the Chairman of Turkish Petroleum (TPAO) argued that while the greater Black Sea region is emerging as an important hub for […]

Energy & Environment

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