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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New Atlanticist

Sep 29, 2008

The Challenge of Somali Piracy

By J. Peter Pham

In a metaphor that the traditionally nomadic Somalis would undoubtedly appreciate, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Last Thursday, Somali pirates seized the Ukrainian-owned, Belizean-registered freighter Faina as it neared the Kenyan port of Mombasa. It was at least the sixtieth such attack for ransom this year in the waters surrounding the […]

Somalia

New Atlanticist

Sep 29, 2008

China, Land of Tainted Milk and Honey

By Patrick deGategno

The recent uncovering of tainted Sanlu baby formula powder from China which has killed at least three infants and sickened tens of thousands more, is a tragic event but one that needs to be viewed with some perspective.

China

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2008

Untying NATO’s Hands: Why the Alliance Needs an Energy Policy

By James Easaw

Since Russia’s August invasion and occupation of Georgia, the short and long term implications have been much debated. Is Russia reasserting itself in an attempt to become the global power that its predecessor the USSR was? What’s going on inside Putin’s head? Is Russia a “rational actor?” What should NATO do about Ukraine?

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Sep 26, 2008

Foreign Policy Debate: Obama vs. McCain

By Neil Leslie

John McCain and Barack Obama are expected to talk this evening about foreign policy and national security in the first of three Presidential debates scheduled in the run-up to the election. In a 90-minute segment broadcast to tens of millions of people, the two candidates will each deliver a vision for the future of U.S. […]

NATO Security & Defense

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2008

Expand the Security Council? Non. The G8? Oui.

By James Joyner

French and EU President Nicolas Sarkozy issued a call from the floor of the UN yesterday to expand the Security Council and G8. Declaring that, “The 21st century world cannot be governed with the institutions of the 20th century,” he argued that inclusion of today’s emerging powers is not just “a matter fairness” but a […]

International Organizations Politics & Diplomacy

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2008

Pakistan’s Strategic Moment

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

The massive bombing of the Islamabad Marriott has deeply shaken Pakistan, offering the newly elected civilian leadership a strategic opportunity to aggressively pursue the Islamic militants that threaten the country’s viability and territorial integrity. After alienating Pakistanis with counterproductive military action against militants on the Pakistani side of the Durand line, Washington must now play […]

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Sep 25, 2008

Chinese Democracy: Effective Government

By Joseph Snyder

The current crisis in China over tainted milk products, including the furious public reaction inside the country, reminds us how hard it is to govern 1.3 billion. It is clearly against the law in China to put dangerous additives into food products. The problem in China has been and remains how extraordinarily difficult it is […]

China

New Atlanticist

Sep 24, 2008

Time to Extend Hand to Ukraine

By Alexander Motyl

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has staked his and his country’s future on Ukraine’s integration into Euroatlantic institutions, even going so far as to say, at an Atlantic Council luncheon on September 23, that Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity can be preserved only with “international guarantees.”

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Sep 24, 2008

Ukraine: The West or the Swamp?

By James Joyner

Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko sees numerous similarities between his country’s situation and that of neighboring Georgia and believes his nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are at stake, he told an Atlantic Council luncheon in New York.

Ukraine

New Atlanticist

Sep 24, 2008

Georgia Crisis Reverberates to Latin America

By Derek Reveron

Sitting in Bogota, I didn’t expect to see Colombian television coverage of the four-ship Russian squadron departing Severmorsk. After all, Colombia is very much focused on consolidating its recent gains against the narcoterrorist group FARC. There is now tremendous optimism in Colombia with a series of successes that began with a spring operation that killed […]

Latin America Russia

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