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
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: Human Rights in the Aftermath of Kosovo
In the Balkans, where human rights discourse was used to morally justify the loss and destruction of thousands of lives, the human rights language, ...
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: The Credibility Crisis of International Human Rights in the Arab World
International groups should collaborate with the local Arab movement to develop strategies to build the moral standing of human rights among the public and improve ...
SEP 5, 1997 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 10 (Fall 1997): Efforts, East and West, to Improve Human Rights Assessments: Articles: Bringing Women's Rights Back into the Human Rights Movement
Jessica Neuwirth would like to bring women's rights to the forefront in the human rights movement as most of the UDHR have a far more ...
JUN 5, 1997 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 9 (Summer 1997): Innovative Human Rights Strategies in East Asia: Articles: A People-Centered Approach to Human Rights
A "people-centered" approach to human rights is arising from the grassroots, making people in struggle the determinative players in human rights standard setting, monitoring, and ...
JUN 5, 1997 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 9 (Summer 1997): Innovative Human Rights Strategies in East Asia: Articles: Seeking to End Discrimination Through Dowa Education
Non-Japanese are treated as second-class citizens, the indigenous Ainu was forced to assimilate, and gender inequality still exists. Dowa (liberation) education, aims at persuading those ...
JUN 5, 1997 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 9 (Summer 1997): Innovative Human Rights Strategies in East Asia: Articles: Awarding Korean Companies for Social Responsibility
KEJI rewards companies after being evaluated for their ethical performance as large Korean corporations in hopes that, as Chun Byung-Hwa points out, can be used ...
MAY 25, 1997 • Article
Morgenthau Lectures (1981–2006): Human Rights and Asian Values
Human rights are neither a uniquely Western phenomenon nor a hindrance to economic development, the charges usually leveled against those who seek to implement human ...
MAR 5, 1997 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 8 (Spring 1997): Transitional Justice in East Asia and its Impact on Human Rights: Articles: Human Rights and the Cambodian Past: In Defense of Peace Before Justice
Kassie Neou and Jeffrey C. Gallup detail how the transitional government has handled the human rights abuses of the past, particularly the Khmer Rouge and ...
MAR 5, 1997 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 8 (Spring 1997): Transitional Justice in East Asia and its Impact on Human Rights: Articles: A Reassessment of Peace and Justice in Cambodia
His Excellency Kem Sokha discusses transitional justice, as he focuses on the greatest violator of human rights in Cambodian history: the infamous Khmer Rouge.
DEC 5, 1996 • Article
Human Rights Dialogue (1994–2005): Series 1, Number 7 (Winter 1996): New Issues in East Asian Human Rights - A Conference Report: Articles: Balancing Rights, Duties, and Underlying Values
In their reluctance to unconditionally embrace rights language and logic, some participants turned to the concepts of duty and responsibility, which are commonly believed to ...