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.

Open Letter to President Obama on Russia

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.

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New Atlanticist

Jul 1, 2009

Open Letter to President Obama on Russia

By Damon Wilson

Dear Mr. President: You have stated your intention to forge a positive relationship between the United States and Russia. We write on the eve of your summit meeting with President Dmitry Medvedev to express our belief that such a relationship requires a commitment by both countries to democracy and human rights and to urge […]

New Atlanticist

Jul 1, 2009

Contradictions in Counterinsurgency: U.S. Drone Strikes in the Tribal Areas

By Brendan Boundy

U.S. and Pakistani anti-Taliban operations along the AfPak border are plagued by contradiction, recent reports say. A counterinsurgency doctrine emphasizing population protection that also relies upon unmanned armed drones will inevitably kill innocents in addition to terrorists.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Jul 1, 2009

Rule Britannia

By Harlan Ullman

Late last month Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pointedly restated Great Britain’s longstanding designation as Tehran’s public enemy No. 1, surpassing the Great Satan America and Zionist Israel. In this verbal assault, the clerics credited “Perfidious Albion” with manipulating and even controlling the actions of the United States in confronting Iran and containing its […]

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Jul 1, 2009

Jones: International Community Still Failing in Afghanistan

By James Joyner

A January 2008 Atlantic Council report began, “Make no mistake, the international community is not winning in Afghanistan.” General Jim Jones, who was chairman of both the Council and that report, tells WaPo’s Bob Woodward that, “We are doing the same things well and the same things poorly.”

People enter a government job centre in Madrid June 2, 2009.

New Atlanticist

Jul 1, 2009

U.S.-EU Unemployment Reaching a Boiling Point?

By Demis Mavrellis

Despite encouraging signs of an uptick in the global economy, unemployment remains an outstanding challenge to both U.S. and EU policy-makers.

New Atlanticist

Jul 1, 2009

Rumors of War in Georgia

By David Smith

Russia Monday launched Kavkaz 2009—the largest ever military exercise in the North Caucasus—possibly the prelude to another assault on Georgia. Meanwhile, rumors of war loom like thunderheads on a hot summer evening.

The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

Jun 30, 2009

German Court Upholds but Delays Lisbon Treaty

By James Joyner

“Germany’s highest court has ruled that the Lisbon Treaty is not fundamentally incompatible with the country’s constitution. However, it has called a halt to the ratification process until the German parliament changes a domestic law to strengthen the role of the country’s legislative bodies in implementing European Union laws.”

European Union Germany

New Atlanticist

Jun 30, 2009

Weak States and National Strategy

By Derek Reveron

Foreign Policy and the Fund for Peace released the annual failed states index to categorize economic, political, and social stability of the world’s countries. Unsurprisingly, topping the list of most stable and sustainable countries are the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

New Atlanticist

Jun 29, 2009

Iraq Victory Achieved with Handover?

By Chris Dierkes

Tomorrow is the deadline for the exit of US Forces from the cities in Iraq, as per the details of the Status of Forces Agreement between the (then) Bush and Maliki governments.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Jun 29, 2009

Center of the French Speaking World Shifts to Africa

By Douglas Muir

If you’re a human being who speaks French, you’re more likely to be African than European. La Francophonie’s demographic center of gravity is now somewhere around Bamako, Mali. If you’re a human being who is literate in French — say, at a high school graduate level — you’re probably European. But not for much longer.

France Sahel

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