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 9, 2009

Defensive on Missile Defense

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

A series of briefings by General Patrick O’Reilly of the Missile Defense Agency, Under Secretary of State Ellen Tauscher, and Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Nacht at the Atlantic Council on Wednesday provided a strong case and rationale for the administration’s recent decision on missile defense in Europe.

Missile Defense Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Oct 9, 2009

Pakistan’s Trust Deficit

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Before we throw caution to the wind and build a new embassy in Islamabad, a la Baghdad, fit for 1,000 employees, let’s first acquire a proper understanding of the nature of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Oct 9, 2009

Turkey Should Pursue Green, Not Nuclear Energy

By Borut Grgic

Turkey is set to go nuclear. The Erdoğan government has put all the pieces in place for the beginning of the construction of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. There is nothing wrong with Turkey’s civil nuclear ambition, except there is no need for it.

Energy & Environment Turkey

New Atlanticist

Oct 9, 2009

Reversal Near in Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Policy?

By Andrew Kessinger

Is the Pentagon starting to reverse its support of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? In a telling article in this month’s Joint Force Quarterly, Air Force Colonel Om Prakash asserts, “after a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly.”

New Atlanticist

Oct 8, 2009

Calling President Blair

By Nicholas Siegel

We may soon have an answer to Henry Kissinger’s infamous question: “Who do I call when I want to call Europe?” And, depending on how things go, it could become a very familiar phone number.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 8, 2009

The Lisbon Treaty and EU Foreign Policy: The View from Europe

By Benjamin Preisler

After the resounding Irish approval of the Lisbon Treaty, its ratification is almost assured … pending signatures of the euroskeptic Polish and Czech Presidents that is.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Oct 8, 2009

Will Biden’s Reassurance Trip Succeed?

By Nikolas Gvosdev

Politico’s Laura Rozen is reporting that Vice President Joe Biden will travel later this month to Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland. The vice president is emerging as the administration’s “perestrakhovshchik” – the “reinsurer.”

Energy & Environment

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

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