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

Jun 10, 2009

Iran’s Election and U.S. Foreign Policy

By Bernard Finel

The Administration of George W. Bush was close to an unmitigated disaster for the image of the United States abroad. His ill-informed, often offensive, and counter-productive public statements and policy preferences set back American national security dramatically. Trying to undo some of the damage of the Bush years is the reason that President Obama has […]

Iran United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Jun 10, 2009

Wars of Necessity and Wars of Choice

By Harlan Ullman

Wars are ultimately about judgment and should be so regarded and defined.

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2009

Progress on East-West Energy Corridor Continues

By Alexandros Petersen

These days it seems like the East-West Energy and Transport Corridor is being undermined from almost every direction. The grand idea of the 1990s – which saw the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipedream became an enormously successful reality – seems to be faltering a decade later.

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2009

European Parliament Elections in Multimedia

By Deirdre Shannon and Ben Fifield

A number of trends emerged from this weekend’s European Parliament elections: the center-right parties maintained their dominance, voters again used the elections as a mid-term appraisal of their national governments and voter turnout continued its downward trajectory.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 9, 2009

Europe Seeks Attention, Obama Wants Help

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

President Obama’s recent trip to the Middle East and Europe offered a clear contrast between the past and present priorities of U.S. foreign policy. Obama’s highly scrutinized and substantive trip to Saudi Arabia and Egypt reflects the fact that the greater Middle East is the strategic center of gravity for current U.S. foreign policy. By […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 8, 2009

The “Obama Effect” and Lebanon

By Bernard Finel

On March 20, 2003, the United States invaded Iraq. On April 9, Baghdad fell, ending Saddam Hussein’s tyrannical rule. The effect of this victory seemed to transform the globe.

Middle East

New Atlanticist

Jun 8, 2009

EU Parliament: One Election, 27 Countries

By James Joyner

While the aggregate result of the European Parliament elections was a win for the center-right, there were really 27 separate elections. And, while they theoretically have nothing to do with national politics, they in fact were about little else.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 8, 2009

European Parliament Moves Right

By James Joyner

The weekend’s European Parliament produced good news for the center-right parties, bad news for the center-left, and good news for radical parties of all stripes.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Jun 7, 2009

Expand the West by Looking South

By Nikolas Gvosdev

For some reason, American strategic planners can only conceive of the “Atlantic community” along an east-west axis. Azerbaijan, lying on the western shore of the Caspian Sea, can aspire to membership in the Euro-Atlantic world; after all, it is part of the European Union’s “Eastern Partnership” initiative and aspires to eventual NATO membership. Yet inexplicably, […]

New Atlanticist

Jun 5, 2009

Britain’s Brown on Borrowed Time

By James Joyner

Despite an embarrassing drubbing of his Labour Party at the polls and the resignation of several key ministers, the UK’s Gordon Brown vows “I will not waver, I will not walk away, I will finish the work.” Most observers, however, think he’s operating on borrowed time.

United Kingdom

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