Framing ethical perspectives
As countries grapple with global issues, such as climate change and the impact of emerging technology, the way that nations interact has never been more consequential. Our experts, programming, and impact initiatives work to analyze the foreign policy of the United States and other nations with an aim to explore shared values and produce agenda-setting resources.
Foreign Policy Resources
International affairs, global governance, and more
DEC 15, 2025 • Video
The Ethics of Decision-Making in National Security
APR 9, 2026 • Article
Realism vs. Pragmatism: Understanding America’s New Rhetorical Landscape
Amid Trump's fiery rhetoric and debates over "realism," Professor Jason Ralph writes that "pragmatism" may offer a better alternative for the American public.
AUG 14, 2025 • Podcast
Values, Realism, and U.S. Foreign Policy, with Alexander Vindman
Alexander Vindman joins "Values & Interests" to discuss the critical interplay between morality and power in the practice of geopolitics.
Related Initiatives
Ethics & International Affairs Journal
Ethics & International Affairs is the quarterly journal of Carnegie Council. It aims to close the gap between the theory and practice of ethics.
Model International Mobility Convention
The primary goal of the Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC) is to formulate new rules for migration and asylum that can benefit both migrants and refugees as well as their states of origin, transit, and destination.
Explore Our Foreign Policy Resources
SEP 20, 2019 • Article
Need for a New Consensus
Foreign policy experts are having difficulty linking the negative implications of a shift towards trasactionalism for U.S. foreign aid to voters. This begs the ...
SEP 18, 2019 • Article
Candidates, Calculus, and the Iran Crisis
In choosing whether and how to respond to the attack on Saudi Arabian oil refineries, what is the calculus for determining action? Should the United ...
SEP 17, 2019 • Article
The Narrative IS Changing . . .
The narrative about America's role in the world is changing--and more evidence is accumulating that suggests that no matter how the 2020 presidential and congressional elections ...
SEP 9, 2019 • Article
Transactionalism and U.S. Foreign Aid
A draft of a new presidential directive on American foreign aid suggests that transactionalism will shift from being a rhetorical device to an actual defining ...
AUG 23, 2019 • Article
The Ethics of Trade with China and Authoritarian Upgrading
Increased foreign investment and engagement is producing, not democratization, but "authoritarian upgrading," where selected reforms are designed to legitimize a softer authoritarianism. This presents an ...
AUG 22, 2019 • Podcast
The 2020 Election & the View from Overseas, with Nikolas Gvosdev
As the 2020 election begins to come into focus, Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev details the foreign policy cleavages in the Democratic Party. Plus, referencing Nahal Toosi's ...
AUG 20, 2019 • Podcast
Ethics & the U.S.-China Trade War, with Nikolas Gvosdev
What role should ethics play in the U.S.-China trade war? Senior Fellow Nikolas Gvosdev looks at these economic tensions in the context of ...
AUG 20, 2019 • Article
Ethical Considerations in a Trade War with China
Are there ethical considerations that need to be factored in as part of assessing the merits of a "trade war" with the People's Republic of ...
AUG 20, 2019 • Article
Beyond Trump
Some countries are now coming to the same conclusions reached by the U.S. Global Engagement program: the 2016 election was not a "blip," but represents ...
JUL 31, 2019 • Article
Democratic Candidates and Foreign Policy
Which foreign policy narratives have emerged from the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates? Will it be restorationist, democratic community, America First, retrenchment/redefinition, reindustrialization/regeneration, or climate ...