Framing ethical perspectives
As countries grapple with global issues, such as climate change and the impact of emerging technology, the way that nations interact has never been more consequential. Our experts, programming, and impact initiatives work to analyze the foreign policy of the United States and other nations with an aim to explore shared values and produce agenda-setting resources.
Foreign Policy Resources
International affairs, global governance, and more
DEC 15, 2025 • Video
The Ethics of Decision-Making in National Security
APR 9, 2026 • Article
Realism vs. Pragmatism: Understanding America’s New Rhetorical Landscape
Amid Trump's fiery rhetoric and debates over "realism," Professor Jason Ralph writes that "pragmatism" may offer a better alternative for the American public.
AUG 14, 2025 • Podcast
Values, Realism, and U.S. Foreign Policy, with Alexander Vindman
Alexander Vindman joins "Values & Interests" to discuss the critical interplay between morality and power in the practice of geopolitics.
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.
Model International Mobility Convention
The primary goal of the Model International Mobility Convention (MIMC) is to formulate new rules for migration and asylum that can benefit both migrants and refugees as well as their states of origin, transit, and destination.
Explore Our Foreign Policy Resources
OCT 1, 2015 • Podcast
NATO in the 21st Century: Addressing New and Urgent Challenges
NATO is now in its third historical phase, says U.S. Ambassador to NATO Douglas Lute in this informative, useful talk. "There is now a ...
SEP 11, 2015 • Article
Let's Be Realistic About the "Military Option" Against Iran
Three dozen retired generals and admirals recently signed a letter supporting the agreement with Iran and declaring it a better option than military action. Why? ...
AUG 20, 2015 • Article
Compromise and Rotten Compromises: A Reflection on the Iran Deal
Ultimately, will the Iran nuclear deal be a good compromise or a rotten one? For an ethicist, one question lingers. Why did the American-led negotiators ...
AUG 20, 2015 • Podcast
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran: Assessment and Prospects
Professor Gary Sick, Iran expert at Columbia University and lead White House negotiator during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, assesses the merits of the recently negotiated ...
JUL 30, 2015 • Article
"Soft Power": The Values that Shape Russian Foreign Policy
In the increasingly frigid environment of U.S.-Russia relations, much attention is given to what may be seen as Russia's strategic "interests." Of at ...
JUL 28, 2015 • Article
To Sow the Wind: An Argument Against the War on Terror
The just war tradition--a tradition that once thought war tragically endemic and sometimes justified, but never simply, unambiguously just--has lost its profound Augustinian political skepticism ...
JUL 20, 2015 • Podcast
Ukraine and the Future of Reforms
In May 2015, a time of crisis not only for Ukraine but also for the future of the entire EU, Cloud and Gvosdev went to Lithuania, ...
JUL 16, 2015 • Podcast
Iraqi Unity & the Fight Against ISIL with U.S. Army Veteran Asha Castleberry
"The most important thing right now is that the Iraqis have to defeat ISIL, and in order to do that, they have to achieve national ...
JUL 2, 2015 • Podcast
The Republic of Conscience
According to former U.S. Senator Gary Hart, Congress, the military, and even the Supreme Court have fallen victim to special interests and ignored America's ...
JUL 2, 2015 • Article
U.S.-Russia Relations: Critical and Unstable
"What was a troubled relationship is now on life support, and the deterioration has taken place in the most existentially perilous area of arms control, ...