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 8, 2020 • Podcast
Mysterious Machines: The Road Ahead for AI Ethics in International Security, with Arthur Holland Michel
How do we learn to trust AI systems and what are the implications of this technology as nations confront mass protests in a post-pandemic world?
MAY 22, 2020 • Podcast
Agile Global Governance, Artificial Intelligence, & Public Health, with Wendell Wallach
The rapid development of emerging technologies like AI signaled a new inflection point in human history, accompanied by calls for agile international governance. With the ...
MAY 15, 2020 • Podcast
Ethical Leadership in Times of Crisis, with Jeff McCausland
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended daily life for everyone. From large corporations to small non-profits to schools to the military, leaders at all types of ...
MAY 15, 2020 • Transcript
Ethical Leadership in Times of Crisis, with Jeff McCausland
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended daily life for everyone. From large corporations to small non-profits to schools to the military, leaders at all types of ...
MAY 8, 2020 • Podcast
Democracy on the Verge: Leadership in Times of Crisis, with Ted Widmer
In this fascinating conversation with Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal, historian Ted Widmer looks back on 13 pivotal days in Abraham Lincoln's life in 1861--the basis ...
MAY 1, 2020 • Podcast
Prospects for Global Coordination in an Age of Pandemics & Emerging Climate Technologies, with Cynthia Scharf
Much like efforts to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, combatting climate change requires cooperation on a global scale. And yet the history of ...
APR 24, 2020 • Podcast
Health Data, Privacy, & Surveillance: How Will the Lockdowns End? with Effy Vayena & Jeffrey Kahn
How should we think about privacy and government surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic? Johns Hopkins' Jeffrey Kahn and ETH Zurich's Effy Vayena discuss health data ...
APR 17, 2020 • Podcast
Fractured Globalization & Dissolving Ethics, with Nikolas Gvosdev
If global interconnections begin to fray in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what happens to the ethical underpinnings of international relations? Senior Fellow Nikolas ...
FEB 4, 2020 • Podcast
Do Morals Matter? Presidents & Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump, with Joseph Nye
How much do morals matter for U.S. presidents when it comes to international affairs? What are the ethics of "America First" or 2003 invasion of ...
FEB 25, 2019 • Podcast
How to Think about War: An Ancient Guide to Foreign Policy, with Johanna Hanink
Why has there been a sudden interest in Thucydides, especially in the U.S.? Johanna Hanink discusses her new book of translations and introductions to ...