Framing ethical perspectives
Democracy is a form of government in which political control is given to the people, whether directly or through the election of governing officials. Currently, large numbers of people have lost faith in this form of government and some elected officials have been working to dismantle democratic institutions. Our programs, events, and experts strive to better understand this alarming development.
Featured Democracy Resources
State of global democracy, U.S. global engagement, and more
JUN 9, 2021 • Podcast
Illiberal Democracy on the Rise: Examining Brazil, Hungary, & India
APR 19, 2022 • Podcast
Why Democracy vs. Autocracy Misses the Point, with Jean-Marie Guéhenno
Senior Fellow Anja Kapsersen is joined by Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno for a conversation about virtual communities and the advent of the age of data.
FEB 23, 2024 • Article
What Do We Mean When We Talk About "AI Democratization"?
With numerous parties calling for "AI democratization," Elizabeth Seger, director of the CASM digital policy research hub at Demos, discusses four meanings of the term.
Related Initiatives
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.
Explore Our Democracy Resources
AUG 17, 2015 • Article
Possible Future Worlds: Essays by Carnegie Council's Ethics Fellows for the Future
This booklet is the result of a six-month online course taken by the Ethics Fellows for the Future, based on Carnegie Council Fellow Thong Nguyen's ...
AUG 6, 2015 • Article
Ethics on Film: Discussion of "Gandhi"
This film is a textbook on Gandhi's political philosophy and the Indian quest for statehood. And for many, Ben Kingsley's performance in the title role, ...
JUL 29, 2015 • Article
Policy Innovations Digital Magazine (2006-2016): Commentary: Creating Standards for Multi-Stakeholder Governance
Many people in civil society and in governmental circles feel ambivalent about this new global governance approach. Should multi-stakeholders be in charge of "solving" global ...
MAY 29, 2015 • Podcast
Ethics in U.S. Foreign Policy: Spymaster Jack Devine on the CIA
"The thing that attracted me to the Agency was a sense of mission," says 32-year CIA veteran Jack Devine. In this discussion he talks candidly ...
MAY 6, 2015 • Article
Teaching About Intractable Conflicts: The Olive Tree Initiative
How can students learn to think more critically about conflicted regions and to engage people with different views in constructive dialogue? The Olive Tree Initiative ...
APR 29, 2015 • Podcast
Defending our Borders vs. Defending our Liberties: ACLU's Anthony D. Romero
From the NSA and the kill list, to the failure to close Guantanamo and prosecute those who committed torture, Obama's national security policies are not ...
APR 27, 2015 • Podcast
Blueprint for Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators, or Simply Change the World
In the late 1990s, using humor, irony, and imagination, Popovic and his friends toppled Serbian dictator Milošević. They went on to found CANVAS, which ...
APR 13, 2015 • Podcast
The Paradox of Liberation
Many of the successful campaigns for national liberation after World War II were based on democratic and secular ideals. Michael Walzer asks: What went wrong? ...
MAR 24, 2015 • Podcast
The Eleventh Hour: The Legacy and the Lessons of World War I
One hundred years after the First World War, boundaries established after the armistice at the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" ...
MAR 20, 2015 • Podcast
The Kurdish Spring: A New Map of the Middle East
In this stirring, information-filled talk on the Kurdish people, David Phillips recounts centuries of abuse and repression against the world's "largest stateless people." But he ...