THE WRITINGS OF E.H. CARR: Synthesis of Idealism and Realism (P Publishing International Relations Series Book 7)

This book discusses the writings of E.H. Carr especially with regard to his criticism of Norman Angell and Alfred Zimmern. With the publication of The Twenty Years’ Crisis: 1919-1939, E.H. Carr’s early foray into International Relations, there emerged the foundations of an intellectual controversy, encapsulated in the polemical debate over the utopian versus the realist approaches to world affairs. The controversy has developed into a sophisticated and technical political science debate since then. But the seeds of contention are clear to see in 1939. A close reading of the text suggests a far from simple support for the realist position as Carr attempted a dialectical approach to the subject, an intellectual exercise in synthesising the whole question of idealism and realism in a way few have found satisfactory as an alternative to the original dispute.