Leadership as Practical Ethics

Sep 29, 2009

If we accept leadership as goal-driven and compromise-ridden, then we see that ethics should not be a peripheral to any public policy curriculum or program of leadership development. Ethics is neither a luxury nor a hurdle to be cleared. It is central to decision-making and leadership itself.

If we accept leadership as goal-driven and compromise-ridden, then we see that ethics should not be a peripheral to any public policy curriculum or program of leadership development. Ethics is neither a luxury nor a hurdle to be cleared. It is central to decision-making and leadership itself.

This event took place in Washington, DC, on June 24, 2009, and was part of a panel on "Leader Development in School of Public Affairs" that included faculty from the University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Texas A&M University. The DC conference, on Leadership and National Security Reform, was cosponsored by The George H.W. Bush School of Government and Public Service and Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs at Texas A&M University, and the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute.

The Strategic Studies Institute has published Joel Rosenthal's paper as a chapter in the edited volume, Rethinking Leadership and "Whole of Government" National Security Reform: Problems, Progress, and Prospects (June, 2010). Click on the link to download the book free of charge.


You may also like

MAR 2, 2026 Podcast

Amoral American Power, with Professor Matias Spektor

From Caracas to Tehran, U.S. power is no longer justified through a narrative of liberal internationalism. Matias Spektor examines the consequences of this shift.

FEB 25, 2026 Video

Why Space Matters and How to Govern It

Watch this "Ethics Empowered" event, in which an expert panel grapples with ethical questions on governance, militarization, and emerging technology in space.

FEB 20, 2026 Podcast

Keeping it Real(ism), with Assoc. Professor Paul Poast

With realism having a political moment, Paul Poast discusses the intellectual roots of the theory and how it's being applied in U.S. foreign policy.

Not translated

This content has not yet been translated into your language. You can request a translation by clicking the button below.

Request Translation