steve on Nostr: “The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919-1949” by E.H. Carr & “The Atlantic ...
“The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919-1949” by E.H. Carr & “The Atlantic Realists” by Matthew Spector
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We’ve for a 2-for-1 to make up for lost time!
E.H. Carr was a British diplomat and professor of international relations (IR) active throughout WWI & WWII. Matthew Spector, on the other hand, is a professor of history at UC Berkeley focused on the history of the realist school of IR. Together, these two authors provide a primer on realist thinking and it’s origins. Claiming to be a reformed realist of sorts, Carr lays out a criticism of the liberal thinking popularized by Woodrow Wilson at the conclusion of WWI. He claims that the peace achieved with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 was doomed to fail because it ignored the basic interests of Germany, defeated or otherwise. Often using dialectics, he goes on to explain the nuance between “reality & utopia” as IR theorists try to characterize the observed world as something between these two poles. In doing so, Carr not only creates a compelling narrative for realism, but also a caution against the claimed effectiveness of international governmental organizations (like the League of Nations, at the time). Written over 80 later, Spector’s work traces the history of realist thought not to UK theorists, but to the dialogue between competing American & German academics. In the late 1800s, these two rising powers proved to be the incubator for the IR theories that would come to dominate politics in the century to follow… for better or for worse. These books were dense at times but very thought provoking for anyone interested in international relations a politics.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
We’ve for a 2-for-1 to make up for lost time!
E.H. Carr was a British diplomat and professor of international relations (IR) active throughout WWI & WWII. Matthew Spector, on the other hand, is a professor of history at UC Berkeley focused on the history of the realist school of IR. Together, these two authors provide a primer on realist thinking and it’s origins. Claiming to be a reformed realist of sorts, Carr lays out a criticism of the liberal thinking popularized by Woodrow Wilson at the conclusion of WWI. He claims that the peace achieved with the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 was doomed to fail because it ignored the basic interests of Germany, defeated or otherwise. Often using dialectics, he goes on to explain the nuance between “reality & utopia” as IR theorists try to characterize the observed world as something between these two poles. In doing so, Carr not only creates a compelling narrative for realism, but also a caution against the claimed effectiveness of international governmental organizations (like the League of Nations, at the time). Written over 80 later, Spector’s work traces the history of realist thought not to UK theorists, but to the dialogue between competing American & German academics. In the late 1800s, these two rising powers proved to be the incubator for the IR theories that would come to dominate politics in the century to follow… for better or for worse. These books were dense at times but very thought provoking for anyone interested in international relations a politics.