#moral-foreign-policy

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#soft-power
Europe news
fromenglish.elpais.com
6 days ago

The soft power of flowers: their influence as a diplomatic tool in state visits and peace talks

Flowers serve as a powerful tool in international relations, symbolizing goodwill and enhancing the atmosphere during political events.
Europe news
fromenglish.elpais.com
6 days ago

The soft power of flowers: their influence as a diplomatic tool in state visits and peace talks

Flowers serve as a powerful tool in international relations, symbolizing goodwill and enhancing the atmosphere during political events.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 day ago

War Ethics and Why We Shouldn't Hope for the Best in Iran

Supporting a just war can be morally wrong if it leads to greater future injustices.
Information security
fromNextgov.com
1 day ago

Anthropic's Glasswing initiative raises questions for US cyber operations

Anthropic is prioritizing cybersecurity by withholding a powerful AI model and launching Project Glasswing to enhance defenses against AI-driven attacks.
Social justice
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago

Don't look at who voted to call the slave trade the gravest crime', look at who didn't | Kenneth Mohammed

The Ghana-led UN resolution on slavery highlights global disparities in acknowledging historical injustices, with significant opposition from Western nations.
NYC parents
fromTruthout
2 days ago

Top Palestinian Children's Rights Group Shutters After Being Targeted By Israel

Defense for Children International-Palestine ceased operations due to Israel's attacks and restrictions on human rights organizations, impacting advocacy for Palestinian children's rights.
Right-wing politics
fromTruthout
6 days ago

No Kings Must Mean No War: Foreign Policy Is Least Democratic Space in Politics

The majority of Iranian Americans oppose the war on Iran, despite media portrayal of pro-monarchy sentiments.
#us-foreign-policy
World politics
fromThe Cipher Brief
1 week ago

Taking a Stand on Adversaries' Influence in the Western Hemisphere

The US operation on January 3rd aimed to counteract adversarial influence in Latin America, particularly against Venezuela and Cuba.
World news
fromThe Nation
1 week ago

What Are Your Obligations When Your Country Is the Villain?

The U.S. executed a devastating missile strike on a school in Iran, killing many children and raising moral questions about its actions.
#donald-trump
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago
World politics

Protecting civilians is a sign of strength and an American ideal | Ted Widmer

Donald Trump threatens severe military action against Iran, reflecting a lack of remorse and confidence amid ongoing conflict and unmet goals.
fromLGBTQ Nation
1 month ago
US politics

Political pragmatism is not a moral failing. It may be the only thing that can save us. - LGBTQ Nation

A remorseful Republican apologized for supporting Donald Trump after a racist video of the Obamas; forgiveness offered if former Trump voters pledge to vote Democratic.
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 days ago

Protecting civilians is a sign of strength and an American ideal | Ted Widmer

Donald Trump threatens severe military action against Iran, reflecting a lack of remorse and confidence amid ongoing conflict and unmet goals.
fromLGBTQ Nation
1 month ago
US politics

Political pragmatism is not a moral failing. It may be the only thing that can save us. - LGBTQ Nation

World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

Readers reply: Has a call for restraint from an authority figure ever put a stop to war?

Mediation and calls for restraint can sometimes lead to the de-escalation of conflicts, though outcomes vary significantly.
fromwww.aljazeera.com
4 days ago

Is war more profitable than peace? David Keen explains

David Keen emphasizes that wars can serve as tools for political control and economic gain, often benefiting those in power while complicating the path to peace.
World politics
World politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
6 days ago

War crimes are no longer shameful. That should terrify you

Warring sides in the Middle East show contempt for civilian life, flouting international laws protecting civilians amid escalating conflict.
Artificial intelligence
fromNature
1 month ago

Stop the use of AI in war until laws can be agreed

Frontier AI models are unreliable for warfare and lack legal frameworks; international rules must govern military AI use before deployment to prevent civilian harm.
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
4 weeks ago

The Secret to Ending All Wars Is the Truth We Already Know

All major wisdom traditions independently teach the same core truth: love your neighbor as yourself, making this the fundamental target of human existence and the antidote to war.
World politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
6 days ago

Is the US committing war crimes by targeting Iran's civilian infrastructure?

Attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure by US officials may constitute serious war crimes under international law.
Women
fromwww.theguardian.com
1 month ago

Will UN plans to transform the way it works throw equality under the bus'?

UN Women and UNFPA merger proposal risks diluting gender equality commitment amid global crises and declining aid, raising concerns among women's rights groups and member states.
#ai-governance
Environment
fromNature
1 month ago

Climate change and geopolitics threaten water supplies - but disaster is not inevitable

Global water systems face crisis from overuse, pollution, and climate change, requiring urgent strengthening of international water-sharing treaties with dynamic monitoring systems.
Privacy professionals
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
1 month ago

The Anthropic-DOD Conflict: Privacy Protections Shouldn't Depend On the Decisions of a Few Powerful People

Privacy protection depends on corporate contract negotiations rather than legal frameworks, requiring Congress and courts to establish enforceable restrictions on government surveillance and data use.
World politics
fromThe Walrus
1 week ago

I Spent Decades Working with American Officials. The Country I Knew Is Gone | The Walrus

The legitimacy of American power relies on binding decisions rather than unilateral actions.
EU data protection
fromInfoWorld
1 month ago

Sovereignty isn't a toggle feature

European cloud alternatives like Hetzner and Scaleway can deliver comparable performance and capabilities to AWS while significantly reducing costs, though they require greater operational responsibility and architectural commitment to sovereignty.
Business
fromHarvard Business Review
1 month ago

Rethinking Strategy in a Hyperpolitical World

Corporate decisions face intense public scrutiny for political implications, resulting in boycotts, revenue loss, reputational damage, and executive terminations, yet political engagement remains unavoidable for businesses.
#international-law
World politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 month ago

Why international law is still the world's best defence

The post-World War II international legal order faces erosion from ultranationalism, great-power rivalries, and norm violations, risking a return to force-based politics where power supersedes principle.
fromFast Company
1 month ago

How leaders can make ethical choices when the rules fall short

Research finds that relying on regulations to determine your policies and procedures can result in ethical blindspots, or situations where people might think if there is not a rule for something, that it's permissible. After years of shifting towards values and culture-based compliance, leadership might be heading the opposite direction.
Philosophy
fromwww.mercurynews.com
1 month ago

Kluth: Race is the elephant in the room of US foreign policy

White genocide' Carl is a right-wing firebrand who played a minor role in the first Trump administration and has more recently gained, depending on your vantage, kudos or notoriety for his theory that Anti-White Racism Is Tearing America Apart, as his book's subtitle puts it. He believes, for example, that a White genocide is underway and endorses the Great Replacement Theory (according to which elites in America and Europe are intentionally encouraging immigration to replace indigenous whites).
US politics
EU data protection
fromComputerworld
1 month ago

US orders diplomats to push back on data sovereignty

The US government directs diplomats to oppose data sovereignty laws globally, viewing them as threats to free data flows and AI development, while European support for such restrictions grows due to privacy and surveillance concerns.
fromThe Atlantic
1 month ago

The Undiplomatic Diplomats

American diplomats are supposed to represent the nation, advocate for the interests and policies of the U.S. government, and stay on generally good terms with the country to which they're assigned. Even when they are sent to places that have an adversarial relationship with the United States, they are expected to maintain decorum while conveying messages these regimes may not want to hear.
US politics
History
fromCornell Chronicle
1 month ago

Global Hubs researchers probe war, how to keep peace | Cornell Chronicle

Scholars collaborate internationally to reconceptualize war as societal conflict and develop interdisciplinary methods for understanding and preventing organized violence.
Philosophy
fromApaonline
1 month ago

The Humanities Challenge: Expanding the Circle of Philosophy

Philosophy offers transformative insights and vision into human life, and public humanities must evolve beyond traditional academic formats to make philosophy accessible to broader audiences through innovative, engaging methods.
#international-humanitarian-law
fromThe Nation
1 month ago

The "Rules-Based Order" Is Gone. Let's Not Bring It Back.

The very same European leaders and anointed members of the Blob expressing outrage about Greenland were largely silent or supportive as Trump bombed Iran and Nigeria, abducted Maduro, and continued to aid and abet Israel's genocide in Gaza.
World politics
fromemptywheel
1 month ago

Morality is a Long Game - emptywheel

He took it, managed to decipher my terrible penmanship, and wrote me a reply. I didn't ask him weighty questions about politics, I think I probably asked his favorite color. People's favorite color was a major interest for me when I was eleven. He wrote some questions for me, (perhaps also my favorite color, which was blue.) and soon we were in a conversation, the kind of sweet conversation where a thoughtful grown-up pays attention to a child.
US politics
Miscellaneous
fromPrx
1 month ago

The World

Marco Rubio received a standing ovation at Munich; Denmark updated conscription; Americas' last prison island became a tourist bioreserve; Winter Olympics update featured Sarah Spain.
Arts
fromHyperallergic
2 months ago

Nicola L.'s Soft Power

Nicola L.'s playful functional sculptures blend second-wave feminist motifs with collaborative, wearable works that enact resistance and solidarity.
History
fromemptywheel
2 months ago

Voiding International Agreements Can Have Awkward Consequences - emptywheel

The United States purchased the Danish West Indies in 1917 for $25 million; Denmark obtained tacit U.S. assent to extend interests in Greenland.
Left-wing politics
fromTruthout
2 months ago

More Than 120 Civil Society Groups Urge EU to Cancel US Trade Deal

Civil society groups urge the EU to cancel the US-EU trade deal and reduce reliance on US fossil fuels, citing Trump's threats and climate rollbacks.
Women
fromenglish.elpais.com
2 months ago

What if choosing a woman as UN Secretary-General were key to the future of multilateralism?

Women have long held high-level UN roles yet continue to be excluded from consideration for UN Secretary-General; electing a woman could drive needed UN reforms.
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago

Why is the US quitting international organisations?

There are more signs that the United States is disengaging from the global order established after World War II. President Donald Trump has ordered his administration to pull out of more than 60 agencies, half of them part of the United Nations. Trump argues that being a member of these organisations is contrary to his country's interests. The secretary of state went as far as saying they're useless or wasteful.
World news
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago

Europe cannot condemn colonialism a la carte

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron appeared before the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland the annual Alpine gathering of the global elite to declare that now is not a time for new imperialism or new colonialism. This, of course, was a reference to the current ambitions of Macron's counterpart in the United States, Donald Trump, who, in addition to recently kidnapping the president of Venezuela and repeatedly threatening to seize the Panama Canal,
Miscellaneous
fromFast Company
2 months ago

Our embrace of individuals over institutions isn't serving us well

In the early 20th century, sociologist Max Weber noted that sweeping industrialization would transform how societies worked. As small, informal operations gave way to large, complex organizations with clearly defined roles and responsibilities, leaders would need to rely less on tradition and charisma, and more on organization and rationality. He also foresaw that jobs would need to be broken down into specialized tasks and governed by a system of hierarchy,
History
World news
fromwww.dw.com
1 month ago

What is the 'rules-based order' and can it survive?

The rules-based international order, built on post-World War II multilateral institutions and laws, faces erosion and contested legitimacy worldwide.
US politics
fromThe New Humanitarian
2 months ago

Inklings | US funding: Risks, power shifts, and a boatload of questions

The US plans to route $2 billion in humanitarian funding through UN pooled funds, potentially reshaping aid funding and empowering OCHA's humanitarian reset.
History
fromThe Cipher Brief
2 months ago

The Long Arc Of American Power

U.S. continental power emerged largely through territorial seizure, which enabled global military influence despite limited public recognition of that coercive origin.
#united-nations
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

What We Get Wrong About Human Dignity

Dignity is inherent and unconditional; making dignity conditional, earned, or reduced to niceness or status destroys true human worth and respect.
World news
fromPrx
2 months ago

The World

EU leaders react cautiously to US actions; Iran cuts internet amid protests; push to return US oil firms to Venezuela; twin gorillas born in DRC.
fromwww.aljazeera.com
2 months ago

Will the Board of Peace live up to its name?

United States President Donald Trump launched the Board of Peace on Thursday, saying it's one of the most consequential bodies ever created in the history of the world. This is all part of the agreement to reach a ceasefire in Gaza after more than two years of Israel's genocidal war on Palestinians in the territory. Trump said the board will work in partnership with the United Nations to address crises far beyond Gaza.
US politics
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

Why You Can't Rely on Your Own Morality Alone

What does it mean to say that you are restrained solely by your own morality, by your own mind? The conscience is often described as an inner voice telling us what to do when others may be opposed. A moral compass is that which distinguishes between right and wrong, good and bad. Our conscience, our moral compass, sets the groundwork for doing the right thing.
Philosophy
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 month ago

United Nations presses for answers on US funding commitments

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday that while the US ambassador, Mike Waltz, said last week that payments would begin within weeks, no further details had been offered. list of 3 itemsend of list We've seen the statements, and frankly, the secretary-general has been in touch for quite some time on this issue with Ambassador Waltz, Dujarric said during a news briefing.
World news
Philosophy
fromApaonline
2 months ago

Solidarity, Self-Deprivation, and Selflessness

Some people intentionally forgo goods to share others' suffering, producing morally praiseworthy displays yet increasing aggregate harm when the sacrifice does not improve others' circumstances.
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 month ago

Can the UN Security Council be reformed?

The UN secretary-general says the absence of African seats is indefensible'. African nations must have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council, the head of the world body has told the African Union. Latin American countries and most of those in Asia do not have a permanent presence either, despite their huge populations. Can the UN be reformed? Presenter: Rishaad Salamat Guests: Olukayode Bakare visiting scholar in international relations and African politics at the University of Colorado Denver Mukesh Kapila former UN humanitarian coordinator
World news
fromwww.npr.org
2 months ago

Many Americans say the U.S. is not a moral leader but want it to be: NPR/Ipsos poll

Americans from across the political spectrum say the U.S. should be the moral leader of the world, but far fewer believe that it actually is today, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll. In the nationwide survey, 61% of respondents said that the U.S. should be a moral leader, but only 39% say it actually is one. That latter figure is sharply down from 60% in 2017 in a similar survey of American attitudes. The latest survey also shows that nearly half the country prefers Washington to stay out of the affairs of other countries.
US politics
World news
fromPrx
1 month ago

The World

Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years; Milan Cortina bans PFAS ski wax; Sanae Takaichi won snap election; Albania reviews 45 years of Hoxha films.
fromwww.npr.org
3 months ago

U.S. leaves U.N. groups

On Wednesday night, the Trump administration announced plans to withdraw from 66 global agencies, including premier U.N. groups that focus on climate and health issues.
US politics
fromwww.theguardian.com
3 months ago

I don't need international law': Trump says power constrained only by my own morality'

the only constraint to his power as president of the US is my own morality, my own mind. It's the only thing that can stop me, Trump said, adding: I'm not looking to hurt people. He went on to concede I do in regards to whether his administration needed to adhere to international law, but said: It depends on what your definition of international law is.
US politics
World news
fromPrx
1 month ago

The World

Multiple international events unfolded, including high-level security talks in Munich, a decisive Bangladesh election result, Gaza school reopenings, and planned Kenya-Somalia checkpoint reopenings.
fromThe Cipher Brief
2 months ago

Loosening the Gordian Knot of Global Terrorism: Why Legitimacy Must Anchor a Counterterrorism Strategy

OPINION - The global terrorism landscape in 2026 - the 25 th anniversary year of the 9/11 terrorism attacks - is more uncertain, hybridized, and combustible than at any point since 9/11. Framing a sound U.S. counterterrorism strategy - especially in the second year of a Trump administration - will require more than isolated strikes against ISIS in Nigeria, punitive counterterrorism operations in Syria, or a tougher rhetorical posture.
US politics
fromwww.aljazeera.com
1 month ago

Human rights outmuscled by rule of force' globally, UN chief warns

Guterres stressed that this assault is not coming from the shadows or by surprise. It is happening in plain sight and often led by those who hold the greatest power. He did not mention specific situations although he did voice outrage at Russia's war in Ukraine, where he said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed in four years of violence. It is more than past time to end the bloodshed, he said.
World politics
fromemptywheel
2 months ago

Time to Unplug the American Century and Restart the Machine - emptywheel

Three of the four things that gave Trump a foothold, in my opinion, were failures in this century (the fourth is the legacy of slavery and the organized political violence that replaced it). The other three, though, are the War on Terror, the financial crisis, and social media. (COVID was the final catalyst, I think; having moved during the height of COVID, I can't express how much worse the US dealt with it than much of the EU.)
World news
#us-withdrawal
fromEngadget
3 months ago
US politics

The US withdraws from dozens of international bodies, including climate-focused organizations

fromEngadget
3 months ago
US politics

The US withdraws from dozens of international bodies, including climate-focused organizations

World politics
fromwww.mercurynews.com
1 month ago

Kluth: US foreign policy is now medieval

Neo-royalism frames contemporary global politics as centered on personalist, monarchical leaders whose loyalty networks and transactional power reshape state behavior.
US politics
fromThe Atlantic
2 months ago

Put Humans in Charge Again

Strong executive authority and flexible decision-making enable rapid, large-scale public works, mass hiring, and fast crisis responses when bureaucratic processes are bypassed.
fromwww.theguardian.com
2 months ago

Will Trump's board of peace replace the UN? podcast

Donald Trump promised to bring peace to Gaza. And part of that promise was the creation of a board of peace. For months it was unclear who would be on it, but now we know: Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside billionaire businessmen and Tony Blair. Apart from how Putin and Netanyahu who have been accused of war crimes can bring peace, there are other questions.
US politics
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