Framing ethical perspectives
Applied ethics refers to the practical applications of the moral principles that govern behavior. Carnegie Council focuses on this field, mostly through the realm of international affairs, by identifying and addressing the most critical ethical issues of today and tomorrow. Our initiatives, content, and experts analyze the way that governments, institutions, and individuals interact and make choices on global issues, such as climate change, emerging technology, and governance.
Featured Applied Ethics Resources
Practical conversations, decision analysis, and more
MAR 13, 2026 • Video
Character and Leadership: A Conversation with Lt. General (ret.) Mark Hertling
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.
DEC 11, 2025 • Video
Re-examining our Capacity for Just Peace
Watch this discussion featuring distinguished experts reflecting on the state of war in 2025 and the obstacles to achieving just peace.
Related Initiatives
Carnegie Ethics Accelerator
The Carnegie Ethics Accelerator is a new kind of incubator designed to empower ethics in the face of swiftly evolving challenges in technology and public policies.
Ethics & International Affairs Journal
Ethics & International Affairs is the quarterly journal of Carnegie Council. It aims to close the gap between the theory and practice of ethics.
Carnegie Ethics Fellows
The Carnegie Ethics Fellows program (CEF) seeks to cultivate the next generation of ethical global leaders across business, policy, technology, NGOs, and academia.
Explore Our Applied Ethics Resources
JAN 28, 2016 • Article
Human Rights in Asia and the West
The geographical, national, or ethnic East-West division in human rights thinking is increasingly irrelevant. Instead, multiple layers of horizontal solidarity have been formed through global ...
JAN 28, 2016 • Article
Values and the Ethics of International Order
At a time when U.S. primacy is in doubt, when many are concerned that China might become a global political power, when the threat ...
JAN 26, 2016 • Article
The "Singapore School" of Asian Values: Down But Not Out?
When the Asian financial crisis of 1997 blunted the so-called "Asian Economic Miracle," critics--many Westerners, but also Asians tired of the tendentious claims of their cultural ...
JAN 26, 2016 • Article
International Holocaust Memorial Day, January 27: What We Can Still Learn
Holocaust survivor Gene Klein: "On Holocaust Memorial Day we remember the suffering, death and destruction of the camps. This year I also ask you to ...
JAN 25, 2016 • Article
Sidelined at the Summit: Indigenous Peoples Ignored in the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement
It is no exaggeration to say that Indigenous Peoples are the frontline defenders in the fight against the forces perpetuating climate change. Yet despite lip-service ...
JAN 25, 2016 • Podcast
The Unprecedented Jihadi Threat in Europe
"At this very moment, ISIS is recruiting probably 100 people a week from all over the world, including this very country. So it is not a ...
JAN 22, 2016 • Article
Competing Moral Claims over the Nuclear Power-Weapons Crossover
"Although the military–industry complex remains resilient, the only ultimate solution to nuclear danger and the best disaster prevention is a nuclear-free world in both ...
JAN 21, 2016 • Article
The Concept of Humane Democracy and a New Global Order
"Differing from liberal democracy whose political goal is rather negatively conceived in a sense of protecting individual rights, the concept of humane democracy is envisioned ...
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 ...
JAN 15, 2016 • Podcast
Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox Discusses the Indian Constitution
Quinnipiac professor Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox recently spent three months researching the Indian Constitution in Delhi. In this talk, she details the document's framework, its main architect ...