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

Apr 29, 2009

Protests a Healthy Part of Democracy

By David Smith

When there is interesting news from just down the road, most people focus on that, largely ignoring events in other countries. But in our globalized world, a few keystrokes put us in touch with London, Paris, Rome or New York. Google is marvelous. A few hops around cyber space yield two observations. First, almost […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 28, 2009

British Artist Tax Revolt

By James Joyner

There’s a nascent revolt of Britain’s millionaire artists protesting the UK’s high taxes. Over the weekend, Andrew Lloyd Webber spoke out and now he’s been joined by Michael Caine.

United Kingdom

New Atlanticist

Apr 28, 2009

Obama AfPak Strategy Déjà Vu All Over Again

By Hugh De Santis

President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan strategy is looking eerily similar to the approach former President George W. Bush employed in his effort to remake Iraq. Through a combination of increased military muscle, diplomatic pressure, reconstruction aid, and support from friends and allies, the Obama administration hopes to end the scourge of al-Qaeda and the Taliban and […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2009

Swine Flu Outbreaks Prompt EU Travel Warnings

By Valerie Nichols

The European Union’s top health official today urged Europeans to postpone any nonessential travel to the U.S. and Mexico. With more than 1,600 cases and 103 deaths in Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak, and with confirmed cases in the U.S. doubling to 40, the World Health Organization worries of pandemic potential while economists […]

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Apr 27, 2009

Afghanistan is Irrelevant

By Bernard Finel

It is now a deeply entrenched conventional wisdom that the decision to “abandon” Afghanistan after the Cold War was a tragic mistake. In the oft-told story, our “abandonment” led to civil war, state collapse, the rise of the Taliban, and inevitably terrorist attacks on American soil. This narrative is now reinforced by dire warnings about […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 25, 2009

UN: United States Must Prosecute Torture Lawyers

By James Joyner

The United States is required to prosecute lawyers who authored memos approving harsh interrogation techniques in possible violation of international law, the UN’s top anti-torture official proclaimed Friday.

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2009

U.S. Prepared to Secure Pakistani Nukes

By James Joyner

“[I]f Pakistan collapses, the U.S. military is primed to enter the country and secure as many of those weapons as it can, according to U.S. officials,” report’s TIME’s Mark Thompson burying his lede three paragraphs into a story whose headline asks, “Does Pakistan’s Taliban Surge Raise a Nuclear Threat?”

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2009

Taliban AfPak Strategy: A Jihadi Preemptive War

By Walid Phares

As the U.S. administration and its allies are devising a new strategy for the next steps in Afghanistan, the jihadists have already begun their next move — but this time it’s inside Pakistan. As I’ve written over the past few months, we need to look at Afghanistan, Pakistan and India as one regional battlefield where […]

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2009

Pakistan Solution Begins in India

By Bernard Finel

Coming on the heels of the imposition of Sharia rule in the Swat Valley in Pakistan comes news that the Pakistani Taliban has seized a foothold in the Buner district, a mere 70 miles from the capital Islamabad. Worse, the Pakistani military seems largely unwilling to confront this rising Islamist tide.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Apr 24, 2009

Tactical Options for Fighting Somali Pirates

By Raymond Pritchett

There have been a number of ideas floated regarding options for dealing with the pirate activity around the coast of Somalia.

Somalia

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