A Conversation with Carnegie Ethics Fellow Alex Urwin

Was there a moment that made you interested in ethics in your professional or personal life?

I spent a lot of time at undergraduate studying at the intersection of politics, economics, and philosophy—and ethics was a big part of that. I particularly remember courses and tutors that pushed us to grapple with ethical questions in international relations, in security and conflict, and in the context of contemporary British and American politics. Though I must say I remember opening my Ethical Philosophy exam and wondering what on earth half the questions meant . . . so it wasn’t all straightforward.

I’ve been lucky since to be able to work on many of the questions and issues I was studying at the time—not least working for the COP president on international climate policy, at the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) in some of the most intractable areas of development, and now back in UK government and No10 [UK prime minister’s office], where by definition anything that reaches us comes with complicated tradeoffs. In all this, the way Carnegie Council frames ethics—that is the constant process of working through problems and attempting to evaluate the best way through them—feels to me to be absolutely foundational to how to think about the work I do.  

How did you find out about the Carnegie Ethics Fellowship, and why did you think it would be a good fit for you?  

In my previous capacity as special advisor to the CEO of CIFF, I had the great pleasure of meeting Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal on the margins of the UN General Assembly in 2024. It was such a breath of fresh air in an otherwise hectic week to have the chance to discuss the broader international context in which we were gathering, and some of the big ethical questions at play at the time—most of which are still at play now. And so when he mentioned the Fellowship in passing, I made the mental note to apply as soon as I was back home in London! It felt like a good fit in the way it offered a structured, two-year- long version of that conversation with Joel—an opportunity to step out of the day-to-day and think more deeply about the work we’re all doing and how to maximize our impact.   

You’ve worked in various positions in government at a young age. What are some challenges and/or some things you’ve learned from these roles?

Now having worked in both government and philanthropy and comparing the two—and comparing it to running a small theater production company on the side as well—it’s striking to me the very different ways in which change happens and systems work. My main reflection on government is the need to be very good at building internal partnerships to ensure that a sprawling system is aligned and moving in the same direction, combined with the need to ensure government is working in a way that’s additive to all the brilliant work that happens outside government. But when government does work well, and everything is aligned, the scale that it’s able to work at—particularly in terms of resourcing—does mean change can happen in a really substantive and meaningful way. In many instances philanthropy is at the other end of this spectrum—being innovative and testing new ways of working and solving problems, and then needing government to come in and take things to scale.   

You are also a published author and playwright. What lessons and insights have you taken from that world into the world of government and NGOs? 

So much of the work we’re all trying to do is about storytelling and winning narrative battles. We’ve seen around the world the power of politics of grievance and anger—and the way in which those with malign intentions have been able to weaponize these very real feelings around the world. So I think so much of our challenge, and the challenge of those who believe in progressive politics, is in articulating a positive and aspirational vision of the future that more people—and particularly young people—can see themselves being a part of, and feel equipped to participate in. The best writing—and particularly the best theater and film—can be a really powerful way of telling these stories, I think.   

What have you learned about ethics and leadership in the Fellowship that you’ve brought back to your professional life?

I love working with and getting to know interesting cohorts of people beyond the usual routines of life. The Fellowship—and particularly this group of Fellows—has been another reminder of how many brilliant, interesting people there are doing wonderfully innovative and impactful things, and how often new ideas can come from meeting and working with new people. In my current role in No10 in particular, I try and make sure I’m spending as much of my time as possible away from my desk (at least virtually!) talking with new people and trying to source new perspectives on the problems I’m trying to solve.

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit. The views expressed within this article are those of the Fellow and do not necessarily reflect the position of Carnegie Council.