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
MAY 10, 2022 • Podcast
Making Decisions When Values Conflict or Are Prioritized Differently, with Paul Root Wolpe
JUL 5, 2023 • Article
A Framework for the International Governance of AI
Carnegie Council, in collaboration with IEEE, proposes a five-part AI governance framework to enable the constructive use of AI.
APR 12, 2022 • Podcast
Surveillance Tech's Infinite Loop of Harms, with Chris Gilliard
In this discussion with Senior Fellow Arthur Holland Michel, Chris Gilliard explains why the arc of surveillance technology and novel AI bends toward failures that ...
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
OCT 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 4 (Fall 2000): Who Can Protect Workers' Rights? The Workplace Codes of Conduct Debates: Articles: A Template for Ground-Up Workable Codes
As Northern labor, religious, and nongovernmental organizations press apparel retailers and manufacturers for stronger codes of conduct and transparent verification systems, in Latin America ...
AUG 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 3 (Summer 2000): Silence Breaking: The Women's Dimension of the Human Rights Box: Articles: Women's Rights in the Context of Insurgency: A Report from Northeast India
India’s Northeast is under a near-constant state of emergency, with tensions frequently erupting between locals and the Indian security forces. L. Anna Pinto examines ...
AUG 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 3 (Summer 2000): Silence Breaking: The Women's Dimension of the Human Rights Box: Articles: Fifteen Years after the World Charter for Prostitutes' Rights
The fight for sex workers’ rights is a difficult one because few NGOs and human rights organizations understand the nature of sex work or are ...
AUG 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 3 (Summer 2000): Silence Breaking: The Women's Dimension of the Human Rights Box: Articles: Ending Female Genital Mutilation without Human Rights: Two Approaches-Egypt
FGM can be dismantled by persistent questioning. An appeal informed by an understanding of human rights, but which draws upon local cultural and religious notions ...
APR 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 2 (Spring 2000): Litigating Human Rights: Promise v. Perils: Articles: Waiting for Justice in the Marcos Litigation
The jury issued a guilty verdict against Ferdinand Marcos for the human rights crimes of forced disappearance, summary execution, and torture of some 10,000 ...
APR 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 2 (Spring 2000): Litigating Human Rights: Promise v. Perils: Articles: An Incomplete Victory at Ok Tedi
As the Ok Tedi case sadly demonstrates, policy reforms and legal precedents do not necessarily translate into improved conditions for the peoples whose rights have ...
APR 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 2 (Spring 2000): Litigating Human Rights: Promise v. Perils: Articles: What Does "International Justice" Look Like in Post-Genocide Rwanda?
"The Tribunal can make a difference for the future of human rights in Rwanda by exposing the truth of the genocide: It was not a ...
APR 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 2 (Spring 2000): Litigating Human Rights: Promise v. Perils: Articles: Resisting Litigation in Umm El-Fahem
Several months after the Israeli Defense Forces informed residents of Umm El-Fahem that some of their lands were to become a military firing range, the ...
APR 6, 2000 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 2 (Spring 2000): Litigating Human Rights: Promise v. Perils: Articles: Big Oil in Louisiana and a Community's Bottom Line
"Everyone was sick–sore throats, burning eyes, headaches, dizziness, nausea, diarrhea. Convoys of trucks were bringing in waste daily, and the smell was everywhere. In ...
DEC 5, 1999 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 2, No. 1 (Winter 2000): Human Rights for All? The Problem of the Human Rights Box: Articles: To Our Readers: Human Rights for All? The Problem of the Human Rights Box
In this issue we examine the barriers that prevent a broad cross-section of people from embracing and benefiting from human rights.