Joel H. Rosenthal is president of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. As a nonprofit leader, scholar, and teacher he works to empower ethical action, with a particular focus on U.S. foreign policy, issues of war and peace, human rights, and pluralism. At Carnegie Council, Rosenthal leads a team that identifies critical ethical issues, convenes experts, and produces agenda-setting resources to educate and activate communities globally.
Rosenthal is editor-in-chief of the Ethics & International Affairs journal published by Cambridge University Press. His first book Righteous Realists is an examination of the political realists who shaped post-WWII America in the nuclear age, including Hans Morgenthau, Reinhold Niebuhr, and George Kennan. His current writing and commentary can be found at the President’s Desk.
Rosenthal is the recipient of numerous awards including the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association for his lifetime achievement in international studies and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Social Science from the University of Edinburgh. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University and BA from Harvard University.
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Featured Work
NOV 4, 2008 • Podcast
Ark of the Liberties: America and the World
Ted Widmer shows that from its beginnings, the United States, for all its shortfalls, has been by far the world's greatest advocate for freedom.
JUL 8, 2008 • Podcast
Torture, Rights, and Values: Why the Prohibition of Torture is Absolute
Rodin's premise is that if we have a commitment against torture, then it leads to an absolute prohibition on torture. Luban worries that our commitment ...
MAY 21, 2008 • Podcast
Rising Powers, Shrinking Planet: The New Geopolitics of Energy
Michael Klare warns that the world's diminishing sources of energy may create a new arms race between the U.S. and China. It is essential ...
NOV 29, 2007 • Podcast
Finance as a Tool of National Security: Update on the Effort to Combat Terror Financing
Levitt discusses the behind-the-scenes work that Treasury is doing to cut off funds for terrorism, with particular focus on Iran.
NOV 1, 2007 • Podcast
Arsenals of Folly: The Making of the Nuclear Arms Race
Richard Rhodes says that it's time to finish the work that Reagan and Gorbachev began and get rid of all the nuclear weapons in the ...
MAY 30, 2007 • Podcast
After Iraq: The Imperiled American Imperium
Drawing parallels between today's situation in Iraq and the wars of ancient Greece and Persia, Raymond shows how a great power's hubris can lead to ...
MAY 3, 2007 • Article
Revisiting Iran?
Is Iran's goal to achieve hegemony in the Persian Gulf and throughout the Middle East? Is that possibility sufficient cause for the U.S. to ...
JAN 11, 2007 • Podcast
Global Financial Warriors: The Untold Story of International Finance in the Post-9/11 World
What steps did the U.S. government take to freeze terrorist assets worldwide, plan the financial reconstruction of Afghanistan, and oversee the development of a ...
NOV 2, 2006 • Podcast
Ethical Considerations: Law, Foreign Policy, and The War on Terror
Former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora fought to stop policies that authorized cruelty toward terror suspects. "Cruelty harms our nation's legal, foreign policy, and national ...
NOV 1, 2006 • Podcast
Economic Justice in an Unfair World: Toward a Level Playing Field
In a lively session, Ethan Kapstein of INSEAD proposes just what the international community can reasonably do to build a global economy that will be ...