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
JUN 19, 2002 • Article
The Politics of Moral Absolutes
Can Bush and his team enter the next phase of the war on terrorism without falling victim to the hazard of excessive moralizing?
MAY 10, 2002 • Transcript
Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution
"We need to steer technology towards aims that are clearly therapeutic and away from ones that involve essentially human redesign, trying to improve our human ...
OCT 20, 2001 • Article
The Ethics of the "New War" in the Aftermath of 9/11
The U.S.-led coalition against terrorism has begun bombing Taliban targets in Afghanistan. But will this achieve its aims, or merely provoke the terrorists ...
SEP 19, 2001 • Article
Feature Articles from Inprint Newsletter (2001–2004): The Ethics of the New War
As we go to press, there is debate over the appropriate response to the attacks of September 11. President Bush uses the language of war. But ...
APR 19, 2001 • Article
Willing to Kill But Not to Die?
Is American policy drifting toward an approach that could be labeled "willing to kill but not to die"? If we consider ourselves a moral nation, ...
JAN 21, 2001 • Transcript
Six Nightmares: Real Threats in a Dangerous World and How America Can Meet Them
Anthony Lake argues that the United States cannot afford to be lax about its security in a world plagued by episodes of high terrorism and ...
MAY 20, 1999 • Article
Evaluating Justice and Reconciliation Efforts
There seems to be a great desire for what some people have called “moral accounting” at the end of the 20th century. For example, the ...
MAY 20, 1999 • Transcript
Evaluating Justice and Reconciliation Efforts
Drawing from their observations of truth and reconciliation efforts in Bosnia, South Africa, Chile, Guatemala, and Cambodia, the panelists explore the challenges of confronting a ...