New Atlanticist

Exclusive expert insight, real-world impact.

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.

NATO Can Survive Afghanistan Failure

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.

Read More

NATO Can Survive Afghanistan Failure

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

NATO Can Survive Afghanistan Failure

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

Stay updated

Subscribe to our daily newsletter to receive the best expert intelligence on world-changing events


Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

Read more

Experts React

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.

Read more

Markup

Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

Read more

Content

New Atlanticist

Sep 10, 2009

NATO Can Survive Afghanistan Failure

By James Joyner

In my latest for The National Interest, I argue that, despite the constant urging otherwise by former  Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO can survive failing in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan NATO

New Atlanticist

Sep 9, 2009

Chinese Autocracy vs. American Democracy

By James Joyner

Thomas Friedman, heretofore perhaps the world’s leading evangelist for free market globalism, devotes his latest column to explaining why Communist China’s system is preferable to ours.

China United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Sep 9, 2009

Looking Down the Afghan Road

By Don Snow

What must the United States do in Afghanistan in order to be able to maintain at the end of our overt military involvement that we have succeeded?

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 9, 2009

Germany is ISAF’s Weakest Link

By Joshua Foust

The Bundeswehr has evolved from refusing to kill known militants to calling in air strikes based on flimsy evidence. The German deployment has been a complete failure. The Bundeswehr is consistently undermining the allied tasks in Afghanistan and should either reevaluate or withdraw.

Germany

New Atlanticist

Sep 8, 2009

UN Agency Proposes Dollar Alternative

By James Joyner

 Back in March, Zhou Xiochuan, head of China’s central bank, created quite a stir when he suggested the need for an international currency to replace the dollar. Now, the United Nations has followed suit.

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Sep 4, 2009

The Domestic Politics of Foreign Policy

By Hugh De Santis

In politics, as in everyday life, good deeds often don’t go unpunished.  Intent on bridging the toxic ideological divide in the US, Barack Obama has chosen to govern from the center.  As the debate over healthcare legislation glaringly illustrates, however, the political center has all but vanished in domestic politics.  The president is about to […]

New Atlanticist

Sep 3, 2009

Afghanistan, Vietnam, and the Limits of Force

By Chuck Hagel

The other night I watched the film “The Deer Hunter.” Afterward, I remembered why it took me so many years to be able to watch Vietnam movies.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 3, 2009

Washington’s Afghan Brawl

By Thomas Rid

The debate on the pros and cons of Afghanistan is raging inside the Beltway. And it is a bit unsettling. On the one side are those who say no, America has no national interests in Afghanistan — and yes, it’s a war of choice: let’s leave the hellhole and get out asap. On the other […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 3, 2009

When Tactics Displace Strategy

By Raymond Pritchett

ISAF’s mission is to help the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) defeat the insurgency threatening their country. Protecting the Afghan people is the mission. The Afghan people will decide who wins this fight, and we (GIROA and ISAF) are in a struggle for their support. The effort to gain and maintain that support must inform […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 2, 2009

Afghanistan: Strategic Retreat?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

President Obama is not Lincoln with a BlackBerry as some have suggested, but Lyndon Johnson with a war the country no longer supports and a new Cronkite yapping at his Afghan heels.

Afghanistan
Load More