The Twenty Years' Crisis, 1919-1939

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-cxxiv

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2. The Science of International Politics

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. The Beginning of a Science

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 3-11

   3. Utopia and Reality

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 12-21

3. The International Crisis

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 23-23

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   2. The Utopian Background

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 25-41

   3. The Harmony of Interests

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 42-61

   4. The Realist Critique

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 62-83

   5. The Limitations of Realism

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 84-88

4. Politics, Power and Morality

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 89-89

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   2. The Nature of Politics

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 91-96

   3. Power in International Politics

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 97-134

   4. Morality in International Politics

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 135-155

5. Laws and Change

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157

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   2. The Foundations of Law

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 159-167

   3. The Sanctity of Treaties

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 168-177

   4. The Judicial Settlement of International Disputes

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 178-190

   5. Peaceful Change

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 191-203

6. Conclusion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 205-205

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   2. The Prospects of a New International Order

      • E. H. Carr

      Pages 207-220

E.H. Carr's Twenty Years' Crisis is a classic work in International Relations. Published in 1939, on the eve of World War II, it was immediately recognized by friend and foe alike as a defining work in the fledgling discipline. The author was one of the most influential and controversial intellectuals of the twentieth century. The issues and themes he develops in this book continue to have relevance to modern day concerns with power and its distribution in the international system. 

Michael Cox's critical introduction provides the reader with background information about the author, the context for the book, its main themes and contemporary relevance. Written with the student in mind, it offers a guide to understanding a complex, but crucial text.


Now updated with a new preface from Michael Cox.

• E.H. Carr
• Holocaust
• World War II
• utopianism
• realism
• international relations theory

• Department of International Relations, London School of Economics Department of International Relations, London, United Kingdom

  Michael Cox

• Trinity College, University of Cambridge Trinity College, Cambridge, United Kingdom

  E.H. Carr

E.H. Carr was born in 1882, joined the Foreign Office in 1916 and resigned 20 year later to become the fourth Woodrow Wilson Professor in the Department of International Politics at the University College of Wales Aberystwyth. Here he published seven books including The Twenty Years’ Crisis in 1939. The following year he joined the Ministry of Information before moving on to become the Assistant Editor of The Times. In 1945 he began work on his massive History of Soviet Russia. He was elected a fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge in 1995. The author of the bestselling What is History? In 1961, Carr died in 1982 at the age of 90.

Michael Cox is Professor Emeritus of International Relations at the London School of Economic and Director of LSE IDEAS, the world ranked Think Tank. Author and editor of over 25 books and a leading specialist on the life and work of E.H Carr, he is editor of Palgrave’s flagship journal of IR, International Politics, as well as its successful book series, Rethinking World Politics. He is currently completing a history of the LSE.

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