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 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 ...
MAY 1, 2020 • Podcast
Prospects for Global Coordination in an Age of Pandemics & Emerging Climate Technologies, with Cynthia Scharf
Much like efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, combatting climate change requires cooperation on a global scale. And yet the history of ...
APR 24, 2020 • Podcast
Health Data, Privacy, & Surveillance: How Will the Lockdowns End? with Effy Vayena & Jeffrey Kahn
How should we think about privacy and government surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic? Johns Hopkins' Jeffrey Kahn and ETH Zurich's Effy Vayena discuss health data ...
APR 17, 2020 • Podcast
Fractured Globalization & Dissolving Ethics, with Nikolas Gvosdev
If global interconnections begin to fray in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what happens to the ethical underpinnings of international relations? Senior Fellow Nikolas ...
FEB 4, 2020 • Podcast
Do Morals Matter? Presidents & Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump, with Joseph Nye
How much do morals matter for U.S. presidents when it comes to international affairs? What are the ethics of "America First" or 2003 invasion of ...
FEB 25, 2019 • Podcast
How to Think about War: An Ancient Guide to Foreign Policy, with Johanna Hanink
Why has there been a sudden interest in Thucydides, especially in the U.S.? Johanna Hanink discusses her new book of translations and introductions to ...
DEC 7, 2018 • Podcast
Control and Responsible Innovation of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence's potential for doing good and creating benefits is almost boundless, but equally there is a potential for doing great harm. This panel discusses ...
DEC 5, 2018 • Article
Misconnecting with the U.S. Public: Narrative Collapse and U.S. Foreign Policy
For the past year, the U.S. Global Engagement program has focused its attention on the continuing strengths and weaknesses of the narratives that can ...