June 3, 2025

Dear Friend,

I’m writing today in remembrance of Professor Joseph Nye. A true friend of Carnegie Council, Joe did more than any other scholar of his generation to bring ethics into the field of international relations.

When Carnegie Council launched the Ethics & International Affairs journal in 1987, it turned to Joe to write the feature article in its first issue. The article was “Superpower Ethics,” and it set the bar for nearly 40 years of scholarship to follow. From Nuclear Ethics to Do Morals Matter? to Soft Power, his work reflected a deep humanism not often found in a field devoted to power politics.

Over the years, Joe would appear at the Council in New York where he could engage with scholars, diplomats, journalists, and an attentive public hungry for his principled and pragmatic approach to world affairs.

His contributions demonstrated precisely how and why ethical considerations of foreign policy were relevant, and as such, needed to be the subject of serious thought and public deliberation.

On a personal level, Joe’s high moral character was a gift to his friends and colleagues. Unfailingly generous and thoughtful, he would always greet me with “How are things at the Council?” followed by “Let me know how I can help.”

Joe changed the field of international relations, bringing values back into a discipline focused on power and interests. His life and work were truly exemplary. He will forever be remembered at Carnegie Council and beyond as our generation’s moral compass and inspiration. 

Below, our team has curated a selection of Joe’s scholarship and contributions to Carnegie Council over the years, which we encourage you to access. 

Sincerely, 

Joel Rosenthal

President, Carnegie Council

Do Morals Matter? Presidents & Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump

How much do morals matter for U.S. presidents when it comes to international affairs? In a talk at Carnegie Council, Nye works through each presidency from FDR to Trump and scores their foreign policy on three ethical dimensions: their intentions, the means they used, and the consequences of their decisions.

Featured Resources

Nuclear Ethics Revisited

In this Ethics & International Affairs article from 2023, Nye revisits his 1996 book Nuclear Ethics, finding that much has changed in international relations, but the “ethical dilemmas” and “the basic usability paradox of nuclear deterrence remains the same.” In response, he outlines a ten-point agenda for just deterrence that seeks to lower risks of nuclear war.

Morgenthau Memorial Lecture: National Interest in the Information Age

In the eighteenth Morgenthau Lecture at Carnegie Council in 1999, Nye discussed America's interests and how power is distributed in the "post-Cold War era," which he refers to as the "information age."

Superpower Ethics: An Introduction

Writing in the first volume of Ethics & International Affairs in 1987, as the Cold War still dominated geopolitics, Nye introduced the topic of “superpower ethics.” How do, or don’t, the ethics of the United States and the Soviet Union fit into the traditional Western system of values?