Joel H. Rosenthal

President, Carnegie Council

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.

Follow him on LinkedIn to receive future content translating ethics, analyzing democracy, and examining our increasingly interconnected world.

Featured Work

Moshe "Bogie" Yaalon. CREDIT: Amanda Ghanooni

OCT 5, 2016 Podcast

How to Achieve Military Victory and Maintain National and Personal Ethics

Moshe Yaalon: "Military excellence has handed us an advantage on the battlefield, but this edge can only be maintained if we preserve our ethical superiority. ...

U.S. President Barack Obama at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. CREDIT: U.S. Embassy Tokyo via <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japan_Obama_Hiroshima_(27501980926).jpg">Wikipedia</a>

MAY 23, 2016 Article

Obama at Hiroshima

The president's visit to Hiroshima to affirm his commitment to a world without nuclear weapons is no doubt a legacy-burnishing gesture, writes Rosenthal. "Yet there ...

MAY 15, 2016 Article

Obama at Hiroshima

President Obama’s impending visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park completes a process long in the works and fundamental to his foreign policy agenda. ...

JAN 21, 2016 Article

Rising Fences: Migrants, Borders, and a New Frontier for Ethics

What will 2015 be remembered for? The image that comes to mind is “rising fences.” If we took a satellite photo of the planet, that would ...

CREDIT:  <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeroenakkermans/24637623679/">Border, Macedonia-Greece, FEb 2016.  Jeroen Akkermans</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC</a>)

JAN 21, 2016 Article

Rising Fences: Migrants, Borders, and a New Frontier for Ethics

"What will 2015 be remembered for? The image that comes to mind is 'rising fences.' If we took a satellite photo of the planet, that ...

NOV 11, 2015 Podcast

Beyond Silicon Valley: Elmira Bayrasli on Innovation in Unlikely Places

Elmira Bayrasli, founder of "Foreign Policy Interrupted" and author of "Beyond Silicon Valley," is all about shattering stereotypes and bringing disregarded groups to the fore, ...

Bear Mountain Bridge on the Hudson River in New York. CREDT: <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-39726694/stock-photo-bear-mountain-bridge-on-hudson-river-with-autumn-leaves.html">Shutterstock</a>

NOV 4, 2015 Podcast

Riverkeeper, Defending New York's Hudson River

Riverkeeper fights to protect the Hudson and the drinking water for nine million New Yorkers. Paul Gallay relates three of its success stories, offering lessons ...

Acropolis and the Greek Parliament CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/visitgreecegr/5986670837/" target=_blank>GNTO / Yannis Skoulas</a> (<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">CC</a>)

SEP 22, 2015 Article

Democracy as Myth and Fact

"Do democracies have the capacity to adjust? Can they expand their ideas of national interest to tackle collective challenges? Can they function in ways that ...

SEP 13, 2015 Article

Democracy as Myth and Fact

Myths give meaning to our lives. They are stories created to explain the human condition—creation, death, heroism, dignity, pain, pride, and suffering. There is ...

AUG 21, 2015 Article

Compromise and Rotten Compromises: A Reflection on the Iran Deal

Let’s give President Obama the benefit of the doubt. As the president has repeatedly asserted, the agreement insures that every pathway to a nuclear ...