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

Sep 19, 2008

Financial Crisis: View from Europe

By James Joyner

The deepening and spread of the U.S. financial crisis and the government’s late move to step in to offer regulatory oversight and bailouts might reasonably have been expected to generate a round of “I told you so’s” from Europe.

Economy & Business European Union

New Atlanticist

Sep 19, 2008

Afghanistan Just Got a Bit Tougher

By James Easaw

Bob Woodward’s recent Washington Post series making public the discord between the Bush White House and the heads of the American military services will provide a ready excuse for European heads of state, already facing increasing skepticism at home, to absolve themselves of responsibility for failure in that vital region.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 18, 2008

Presidents Come and Go but Strategy Remains

By Derek Reveron

President Bush may be a lame duck but his new national defense strategy will shape policy for years regardless of who wins in November.

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Sep 18, 2008

Iraq: Time for a Deadline

By Neil Leslie

Al-Anbar, the largest of Iraq’s eighteen provinces, was once thought of as a lost cause. A 2006 US Marine Corps report stated that the situation in the region was deteriorating by the day. The Sunni population of Anbar – dominant under Saddam – was fearful of growing Iranian influence in Baghdad, and increasingly turned to […]

Iraq

New Atlanticist

Sep 17, 2008

Winning in Afghanistan: Whose Side is Pakistan Really On?

By James Joyner

In a rather cheery piece in Slate, Anne Applebaum declares, “Of Course We Can Win in Afghanistan — If we’re willing to pay the price of victory.”

Afghanistan Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 17, 2008

Pakistan’s Perfect Storm

By Shuja Nawaz

Within a matter of days, events on the Afghan border seem to be creating a perfect storm of mistrust and conflict between the United States and Pakistan

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2008

Debate: Is Russia Rational?

By James Joyner

A question that has been raised repeatedly, both explicitly and implicitly, since Russia’s invasion of Georgia is the degree to which Vladimir Putin and Dmitri Medvedev are rational actors. Surely, many argue, it makes no sense for Russia to risk isolating itself from the West to make a point?

Russia

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2008

Russia a Rational Actor? Nyet!

By Robert Manning

After all the huffing and puffing about what civilizations don’t do in the 21st century (does Abu Ghraib ring a bell?) on the one side, and finger-wagging about spheres of influence on the other, what does the Georgia tragedy add up to? Is cooperation with Russia fading beneath a new Cold War? Is Russia facing […]

Russia

New Atlanticist

Sep 16, 2008

Russia a Rational Actor? Da!

By Christopher Harness

The world sat startled when Russia heavy-handedly violated the sovereignty of Georgia. It is currently aggravated at Russian reluctance to promptly leave. In the aftermath, everyone is hurriedly analyzing, grasping for reasons why Russia felt the need to go all in.

Russia

New Atlanticist

Sep 15, 2008

Cold War II

By James Joyner

The dramatic escalation in tensions between NATO and Russia that followed the West’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia and, especially, Russia’s invasion of Georgia, have many analysts fearing a return to the bad old days of the Cold War. Jim Townsend, the Atlantic Council’s vice president for international security programs, declared to a C-SPAN […]

NATO Russia

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