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

Jul 24, 2009

The Obama Effect: US Favorables Up

By James Joyner

While the substance of President Obama’s foreign policy is almost indistinguishable from that of President George W. Bush, the difference in style is undeniable. And, if a new Pew poll is right, it very much matters.

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2009

5 Questions for André Sapir

By Alexei Monsarrat

André Sapir, a member of the Atlantic Council’s Business and Economics Advisors Group, is an Economics Professor at Université Libre de Bruxelles and a Senior Fellow at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank. I had the opportunity to gather his thoughts on some key issues of interest to the Atlantic Council community.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2009

Uyghur Brotherhood?: The Urumqi Riots in Context

By Griffin Huschke

With recent violence in China’s western province of Xinjiang, Washington is increasingly ensnared in events dealing with the Uyghur community in China. However, many questions remain about the true goals of this Turkic ethnic group: are they terrorists bent on overturning law and order, or freedom fighters trying to throw off the yoke of a […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2009

The Obama Debacle?

By Harlan Ullman

Despite overheated rhetoric from his defenders, history will not prove kind to George W. Bush and his foreign policy decisions that have been or will prove to be debacles. The Obama administration is quite right to argue repeatedly that the Bush team left behind a foreign policy mess exacerbated by economic and financial meltdowns.

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2009

EU Policies in North Korea: A Better Approach?

By Ross Rustici

Isn’t it time to consider an additional strategy when dealing with North Korea? Washington’s current policy debate is so consumed by the nuclear proliferation problem and past solutions that often it forgets to analyze the broader picture. Much of the discussion surrounding the recent nuclear and missile tests by North Korea has centered on the […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jul 22, 2009

Bush’s Third Term

By James Joyner

In an essay for The National Interest, “Bush’s Third Term,” I catalog the remarkable continuity between Barack Obama’s foreign policy and that of his predecessor. While noting that real change may be coming on missile defense, Israel, and Cuba, I point out how little has changed on Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, al Qaeda, North Korea, […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 21, 2009

Who Really Runs Russia?

By James Joyner

Most of us in the West have presumed that Vladimir Putin is still running Russia, despite having stepped down as president and moving to the constitutionally-less-powerful premiership. Apparently, most Russians think so, too.

Russia

New Atlanticist

Jul 21, 2009

The Congressional-Military-Industrial Complex

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

“If the Department of Defense can’t figure out a way to defend the United States on half a trillion dollars a year, then our problems are much bigger than anything that can be cured by buying a few more ships and planes.” So spoke Defense Secretary Robert Gates, angry with the profligate ways of both the Congress […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 21, 2009

Is Globalization 2.0 Unraveling?

By Robert Manning

Even as projections of global recovery in 2010 flow from the IMF, the global economic meltdown has spawned a buzzword that seems to be on the lips of the chattering class: deglobalization. Look no further than Joshua Kurlantzick’s “The World is Bumpy” for a recent sampling.

New Atlanticist

Jul 20, 2009

UK’s Afghanistan Patience Waning

By James Joyner

July has been the deadliest month so far for American forces in Afghanistan, with 55 killed already this month. Despite the trend toward Americanization of the conflict, however, today’s crash of a RAF Tornado fighter brought the month’s toll to 19 British troops killed. Given the extreme controversy over the war in the UK, that […]

Afghanistan United Kingdom

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