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.

Craddock: NATO Political Leadership AWOL

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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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.

Markup

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

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2009

Craddock: NATO Political Leadership AWOL

By James Joyner

Supreme Allied Commander John Bantz Craddock told the Atlantic Council that “political leadership in NATO is AWOL” and that fixing the “imbalance” between an enormous strategic ambition and modest political will is vital for success in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2009

Afghanistan Commander Replaced

By James Joyner

The United States is making a shocking shake-up in the leadership of the Afghanistan mission, replacing General David McKiernan with Lt. General Stanley McChrystal, according to various reports. McKiernan has been in his post less than a year.

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2009

Pakistan: Too Big To Fail

By Jonathan Paris

Hardly a day goes by without reports highlighting Pakistan’s mounting instability or the growing strength of the Taliban inside its troubled borders. From the media and high-profile observers alike, doomsday scenarios abound. U.S. army general David Petraeus has called the Taliban an “existential threat” to the Pakistani state. His adviser on counterinsurgency in Iraq, David […]

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2009

Moving Forward on Climate Change Policy

By Rachel Fleishman

It used to be that nothing in life was certain except death and taxes. Then came climate change. The news on the climate has gone from bad to alarmingly urgent. The atmosphere is warming faster than previously thought. The obvious culprit is economic development – our particular path to prosperity has been paved with carbon.

New Atlanticist

May 11, 2009

Europe Betrays Its Mission in Prague

By Borut Grgic

The much-anticipated Prague Summit between the European Union and our eastern partners was a flop. The eastern partnership declaration published last Thursday is not worth the paper it was printed on.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2009

Azerbaijan the Energy Partner Europe Needs Most

By Borut Grgic

Yesterday’s meeting in Prague on the ‘Southern Corridor’ – the pipelines that will bring gas and oil to Europe – produced a decent result, though still missing are agreements on a transit regime with Turkey and on the volumes to be sold on the European market. The key lies in Azerbaijan.

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2009

Australia Prepares for U.S. Decline

By James Joyner

The release a week ago of an Australian defense plan calling for a substantial upgrade in forces based on the assumption that the United States will be reducing its commitments to the Asia-Pacific region has slowly gotten the attention of the foreign policy commentariat.

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2009

Ireland Bans Soccer for Chad Combat Troops

By James Joyner

Ireland’s defense minister has ordered that soldiers assigned to combat duty in Chad refrain from playing contact sports, including soccer and volleyball, lest they injure themselves on the hard dirt. Sadly, this is not a satire from The Onion.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

May 9, 2009

US-China Naval Coordination Urgently Needed

By Damien Tomkins

An encounter between the USNS Victorious and Chinese trawlers in the Yellow Sea marks the fifth such incident within two months, China Post reports. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman asserted that “a couple of Chinese fishing vessels maneuvered close to the Victorious in what was an unsafe manner.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu countered, “The […]

New Atlanticist

May 8, 2009

Medvedev Praises Soviet Role in WWII

By James Joyner

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is working to make belittling the Soviet Union’s contribution to the Allied victory in World War II a crime. He also called the Soviet Union “our country,” a reference sure to raise eyebrows in the West.

Russia

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