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 24, 2018 • Article
The Assault on Ethics
"A year and a half into the Trump presidency, its most consequential feature thus far is its assault on ethics," writes Carnegie Council President Joel ...
MAY 31, 2018 • Podcast
Why Ethics Matter in International Affairs
How can you ensure that ethics are a core component, not only of an international affairs education, but of graduates' performance once they go out ...
MAY 1, 2018 • Podcast
The Peacemakers: Leadership Lessons from Twentieth-Century Statesmanship, with Bruce Jentleson
What are the qualities and conditions that enable people to become successful peacemakers? At a time when peace seems elusive and conflict endemic, Bruce Jentleson ...
MAR 19, 2018 • Article
Story of Service: Max Missel
Max Missel was born October 18, 1895 in Kovno, Russia (now Kaunas, Lithuania). Five-year old Max came to the United States with his mother Lipsa and his ...
JAN 29, 2018 • Article
Was the 1928 Paris Peace Pact really a failure?
In their book, The Internationalists, Hathaway and Shapiro argue that 1928 marks a complete shift from an old world order to a new one. Before Kellogg-Briand, ...
OCT 13, 2017 • Podcast
Liberals' Lament? A Conversation between Joel Rosenthal and Devin Stewart
Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal and Senior Fellow Devin Stewart discuss the challenges to liberalism, in the United States and on the international stage, and ...
SEP 29, 2017 • Podcast
The Ordinary Virtues: Moral Order in a Divided World
To mark Carnegie Council's Centennial, Michael Ignatieff and team set out to discover what moral values people hold in common across nations. What he found ...
SEP 8, 2017 • Podcast
North Korea: A Conversation between Joel Rosenthal and Devin Stewart
Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal and Senior Fellow Devin Stewart discuss the tense North Korea situation. What does Kim Jong-un want? How should the United ...
SEP 5, 2017 • Podcast
Making Ethics Matter in 2017
"Ethics will be found in people of good will who believe in constructive responses to hard policy challenges. Ethics will be demonstrated by those who ...