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
JUN 11, 2012 • Podcast
The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future
Policy expert and scholar Victor Cha lifts the curtain on North Korea, one of the world's most isolated, poorly-understood, and dangerous nations, and explains why ...
JUN 7, 2012 • Podcast
Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World
What's a G-zero world? It's when no one takes a global leadership role, when no one is willing to, and no one is capable of ...
JUN 1, 2012 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: Is a "Kill List" of Terrorists Ethical?
After a recent "New York Times" story on Obama's "kill list" of terrorists, many are questioning the president's counterterrorism strategy. Is it ethical for President ...
MAY 25, 2012 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: What Does Chen Guangcheng's Arrival in the U.S. Mean for Human Rights in China?
With Chen Guangcheng now in the United States on a student visa, a diplomatic nightmare has been averted for the Obama administration. But this compromise ...
MAY 23, 2012 • Article
Coming Unstuck
What is the role of the nation-state in a globalizing world? The need is not for a relinquishment of national identity per se, but for ...
MAY 22, 2012 • Article
What We Talk About When We Talk About Isolationism
Today, American supremacy is assumed rather than argued for: in an age of tremendous political division, it is a bipartisan first principle of foreign policy. ...
MAY 14, 2012 • Article
Farewell Dick Lugar: A Gentleman Departs
Despite certain Republicans' claims to the contrary, Dick Lugar was a genuine conservative, albeit a responsible one who saw the advantage of engaging the other ...
MAY 4, 2012 • Podcast
Global Ethics Corner: When Are Drones Strikes Ethical?
President Obama's top counterterrorism adviser recently defended drone strikes, saying they are legal, wise, and moral. But, citing international law, many critics question this approach, ...
APR 17, 2012 • Podcast
Human Rights Watch World Report 2012
How have governments responded to the recent events in Libya, Syria, Egypt, and other countries such as Bahrain? Ken Roth of Human Rights Watch gives ...
APR 9, 2012 • Podcast
No One's World: The West, the Rising Rest, and the Coming Global Turn
How do we manage a world where no one power is dominant, and emerging powers have their own views about how to organize political, social, ...