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

Stay updated

Explore our unique analysis

Fast Thinking

When major global news breaks, the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox.

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

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

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2008

Today’s Editorials – 9/23/2008

By James Joyner

Answering Russian Aggression – Mikheil Saakashvili, Washington Post Russia Entering Third Act of Financial Tragedy – Anders Aslund, Japan Times Russia’s Perception of Reality – David Stromberg, Jerusalem Post Pakistan: The Enemy is Closer to Home – Editorial, Guardian The State of the World – Ban Ki Moon, Today’s Zaman Global Storm Gives Gordon Brown […]

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2008

A New Transatlantic Agenda?

By Jan Eliasson

Let us face it: the United States – and to a degree Western democracies in general – have lost a lot of stature and respect around the world during the last eight years.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Sep 23, 2008

Builders, Diplomats, Guardians, and Warriors

By Derek Reveron

With some fanfare, General David Petraeus transferred command of US forces in Iraq to his deputy General Ray Odierno on September 17. In the last two years, much has been written about Petraeus—the architect of American counterinsurgency strategy and leader of the controversial surge in Iraq. He survived early political attacks in the American media […]

Afghanistan Iraq

Share

Issue briefs and reports