Ethics Series Part 2 – Ethics in International Relations: Do They exist?

Monday, December 7 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm EST

This event will be broadcast online and is free and open to all – there is no login or registration required to tune in. Click here to watch the livestream.

David Collenette, Lorraine Weinrib, and Tina Park join Tom Axworthy in conversation. This is the second in our webinars on Ethics – the subject is the application of ethics to International Law and International Relations.

Thucydides stated a basic proposition of International Relations that, “the strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must.” Ever since we have debated whether ethics has a place in foreign and defence policies or is it only realpolitik that matters? Human rights advocates argue that states must adhere to basic norms and we have built an imposing legacy of International Law. But, in the modern era, even genocide has occurred. Is it possible to practice ethics in a dangerous world and, if so, what institutions are needed to bring it about?