Joel H. Rosenthal

President, Carnegie Council

Joel H. Rosenthal is president of Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. As a nonprofit leader, scholar, and teacher he works to empower ethical action, with a particular focus on U.S. foreign policy, issues of war and peace, human rights, and pluralism. At Carnegie Council, Rosenthal leads a team that identifies critical ethical issues, convenes experts, and produces agenda-setting resources to educate and activate communities globally.

Rosenthal is editor-in-chief of the Ethics & International Affairs journal published by Cambridge University Press. His first book Righteous Realists is an examination of the political realists who shaped post-WWII America in the nuclear age, including Hans Morgenthau, Reinhold Niebuhr, and George Kennan. His current writing and commentary can be found at the President’s Desk.

Rosenthal is the recipient of numerous awards including the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Studies Association for his lifetime achievement in international studies and an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Social Science from the University of Edinburgh. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University and BA from Harvard University.

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Featured Work

JUL 1, 2009 Podcast

Pillars of Ethics

Carnegie Council president Joel Rosenthal discusses three pillars of ethics--pluralism, rights and responsibilities, and fairness--with Council staff members Madeleine Lynn and William Vocke.

JUN 24, 2009 Article

Leadership as Practical Ethics

What does one need to know to be a leader in the field of public policy? I want to argue for the centrality of ethics ...

JUN 3, 2009 Podcast

Ethical Policy Dilemmas in the Promotion of U.S. Human Rights Values

What are realistic processes of social change that should inform effective human rights policy and its implementation? Should human rights issues be pressed even if ...

APR 14, 2009 Article

“The Current” Interviews Joel Rosenthal

Transcript of an interview with The Current, Columbia University’s undergraduate journal of contemporary politics, culture, and Jewish affairs. THE CURRENT: What does it mean ...

FEB 9, 2009 Podcast

The Cuba Wars: Fidel Castro, the United States and the Next Revolution

As Castro finally leaves the stage and a new president arrives in Washington, both the Cuban system and U.S.-Cuba relations could be on ...

JAN 27, 2009 Podcast

Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam

For Bundy, the ultimate actor in Vietnam was not the military, the secretary of state or of defense, or the national security advisor. It was ...

JAN 27, 2009 Podcast

The Crisis of American Foreign Policy: Wilsonianism in the Twenty-First Century

Was George W. Bush the true heir of Woodrow Wilson, the architect of liberal internationalism? Was the Iraq War a result of liberal ideas about ...

JAN 13, 2009 Podcast

Andrew Carnegie

Biographer David Nasaw tells the fascinating story of Andrew Carnegie's efforts to stop World War I, and how his failure broke his heart.

DEC 16, 2008 Article

Pillars of Ethics

Ark of the Liberties: America and the World

NOV 4, 2008 Podcast

Ark of the Liberties: America and the World

Ted Widmer shows that from its beginnings, the United States, for all its shortfalls, has been by far the world's greatest advocate for freedom.