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.

In the Shadow of NATO Exercises in Georgia: How Moscow Stopped Worrying and Decided to Embrace NATO

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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New Atlanticist

May 27, 2009

In the Shadow of NATO Exercises in Georgia: How Moscow Stopped Worrying and Decided to Embrace NATO

By Donald Bandler and Jakub Kulhanek

As you are reading these lines, the NATO-sponsored Cooperative Longbow 09 – Cooperative Lancer 09 exercises are underway in Georgia. Although they were announced several months ago, are in their fourth iteration, and will be restricted to training peacekeepers, they have already provoked much controversy. Moscow’s demand that the exercises in a country until recently […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 27, 2009

The Greatest National Security Threat

By Harlan Ullman

Last Thursday’s face-off between President Barack Obama speaking at the National Archives and former Vice President Dick Cheney shortly thereafter at the American Enterprise Institute brilliantly exposed what is arguably the greatest threat to the nation. Yet, understandably, no one took notice.

United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 26, 2009

North Korea Tests: Why? What Now?

By James Joyner

Over what, for Americans, was a long holiday weekend, North Korea tested another nuclear device and followed that up by firing two more short-range ballistic missiles, moves sure to heighten fear among its neighbors and further isolate the regime. The question most observers are asking is Why now?

Korea

New Atlanticist

May 26, 2009

Energy Insecurity as a Destabilizing Factor: The Case of the Hermit Kingdom

By Boyko Nitzov

On a popular image showing the Earth at night, there is an expanse appearing to be an open sea or icy desert. This is North Korea: a dark spot between the bright city lights of Japan, China, and the Republic of Korea. It is in this darkness that a second test of a nuclear weapon […]

Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

May 26, 2009

American Policy for Russia: Democracy

By David Smith

US President Barack Obama heads to Moscow July 6-8. With his trip just six weeks off, and the new American administration still crafting a foreign policy, newspaper pundits, including the author of this column, are scribbling. Opinions abound, but almost all agree that it is time for Obama to step “Beyond the “Reset Button.'”

Russia United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

May 24, 2009

Turkey-Armenia Reconciliation: The Right Side of History

By David Phillips

The recent announcement normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations is a potentially historic breakthrough. However, the lack of progress in implementing the “framework agreement” raises questions about Turkey’s intentions and resolve. Turkey’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, is buckling to domestic opposition and objections from Azerbaijan. Moreover, the announcement of the normalization “road map” on the eve of Armenian […]

Turkey

New Atlanticist

May 23, 2009

Obama Foreign Policy: Bush 2.0?

By James Joyner

Charles Krauthammer notes, as many have lately, the remarkable similarity between the Obama foreign policy and the Bush foreign policy he campaigned against so vociferously. He cleverly dubs it the “Obama three-step: (a) excoriate the Bush policy, (b) ostentatiously unveil cosmetic changes, (c) adopt the Bush policy. “

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2009

Fairytale: We Don’t Wanna Put-In

By David Smith

Fairytale is the sprightly little ditty that won the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest for Norwegian Alexander Rybak last Saturday in Moscow. We Don’t Wanna Put-In is a song by Stefane and 3G of Georgia.

The Caucasus

New Atlanticist

May 22, 2009

India’s Election Surprise: What it Means for India and South Asia

By Basharat Peer

On a late April afternoon in Lucknow, the capital of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, I met a rickshaw puller, a man who made $3 a day pedaling passengers through aggressive traffic and temperatures as high as 120 F. He was among the hundreds of millions of Indian poor and also on the lowest […]

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2009

Will the Dollar be the Only Casualty of the Economic Crisis?

By Robert Manning

When the world’s largest creditor (China) sends a message of frustration to the world’s largest debtor (the U.S.), it is probably a good idea to pay attention. Indeed, there may be a larger message there than that of the role of the dollar.

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