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.
He is also editor-in-chief of the Ethics & International Affairs journal published by Cambridge University Press and serves on the advisory board for the Bard College Globalization and International Affairs program. Rosenthal’s 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.
He 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. Rosenthal received his Ph.D. from Yale University and B.A. from Harvard University.
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Featured Work
MAY 22, 2023 • Article
Sitting on the Sidelines: The Global Divide on Ukraine
As a UN vote in February revealed, the world is divided on how to respond to Russia's continuing war against Ukraine. Carnegie Council President Joel ...
MAR 2, 2023 • Article
Gandhian Trusteeship: Empathy, Mutuality, and a New Realism
On February 23, 2023, Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal spoke on empathy, mutuality, realism, and in the influence of Mahatma Gandhi at an event organized by Permanent ...
FEB 6, 2023 • Article
Ethics, Escalation, and Engagement in Ukraine and Beyond
Now that HIMAR and Patriot missiles as well as Leopard and Abrams tanks are on the way to Ukraine, NATO unity is at a high ...
DEC 7, 2022 • Article
Five Moments That Will Shape Ethics in International Affairs for 2023
How can ethics help us better understand the world in 2023 and the choices we face within it? Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal discusses the FTX ...
OCT 19, 2022 • Podcast
How to Be an Ethical Individual in an Interconnected World, with Michael Schur
In this special Global Ethics Day event, Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal speaks with Michael Schur, creator of the hit TV show "The Good Place" ...
OCT 13, 2022 • Article
Ethics as an Antidote
Against the bleak backdrop of war in Ukraine, climate emergency, food and energy shortages, and multiple refugee crises—true north on anyone’s moral compass ...
SEP 23, 2022 • Article
Autocrats, Oligarchs, and Us: A Moment of Crisis for Responsible Internationalism
As world leaders meet in New York for the UN General Assembly, it is clear that responsible internationalism is in crisis. Carnegie Council President Joel ...
AUG 30, 2022 • Article
General Milley's Ethical Dilemma: The Letter That Was Never Sent
More than two years after President Trump’s infamous stroll across Washington DC’s Lafayette Square Park, General Mark Milley has gone public with his ...
JUL 6, 2022 • Podcast
A Conversation with Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on Ethics, Diplomacy, & Public Service
In a candid conversation, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, talks with Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal about her role in the ...
JUN 17, 2022 • Article
The United Nations: A Distinct and Exceptional Purpose
"The United Nations stands as the preeminent symbol and hope for the universal aspirations of human society," writes Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal in this ...
Featured Work
FEB 10, 2021 • Podcast
The Good American: The Epic Life of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government's Greatest Humanitarian, with Robert D. Kaplan
In his long career as a journalist covering the Cold War and its aftermath, best-selling author Robert D. Kaplan often crossed paths with Bob Gersony. ...
DEC 7, 2020 • Podcast
Vaccine Ethics: What Are We Learning from COVID-19?
As the race for COVID–19 vaccines enters its next stage, we are faced with broad ethical challenges, along with specific questions of principle and practice. ...
SEP 23, 2020 • Podcast
The Last Million: Europe's Displaced Persons from World War to Cold War, with David Nasaw
The aftershocks of World War II did not end with German capitulation in May 1945. Millions were displaced, including concentration camp survivors, POWs, slave laborers, political ...
SEP 14, 2020 • Transcript
Protests in Perspective: The Protests Go Global, with Mary L. Dudziak & Brenda Gayle Plummer
The killing of George Floyd and the wave of protests that followed bring to life the current struggle for civil rights, human rights, and social ...
JUN 15, 2020 • Podcast
The Ethics of the Coronavirus Lockdown, with Christian Barry
Due to COVID-19, significant restrictions have been placed on freedoms to move about in many nations. Philosopher Christian Barry explores how the costs of these ...
JUN 8, 2020 • Podcast
Mysterious Machines: The Road Ahead for AI Ethics in International Security, with Arthur Holland Michel
The last decade has witnessed a vibrant public discussion about how to safely, ethically, and legally integrate complex artificial intelligence (AI) into modern life, particularly ...
MAY 22, 2020 • Podcast
Agile Global Governance, Artificial Intelligence, & Public Health, with Wendell Wallach
The rapid development of emerging technologies like AI signaled a new inflection point in human history, accompanied by calls for agile international governance. With the ...
MAY 15, 2020 • Podcast
Ethical Leadership in Times of Crisis, with Jeff McCausland
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended daily life for everyone. From large corporations to small non-profits to schools to the military, leaders at all types of ...
MAY 15, 2020 • Transcript
Ethical Leadership in Times of Crisis, with Jeff McCausland
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended daily life for everyone. From large corporations to small non-profits to schools to the military, leaders at all types of ...
MAY 8, 2020 • Podcast
Democracy on the Verge: Leadership in Times of Crisis, with Ted Widmer
In this fascinating conversation with Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal, historian Ted Widmer looks back on 13 pivotal days in Abraham Lincoln's life in 1861--the basis ...