Is E.H. Carr's reputation as a Realist deserved?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Ross Lucas IR 200 Essay

Q: Is E.H. Carr's reputation as a Realist deserved?

Traditionally Carr is seen a political realist. Thus his work emphasises power, the role of the state, and the structure of the international system. However Carr also advocated radical social, economic and foreign policy reform that overlaps with Liberal and Marxist ideology. Indeed in Carr's major international relations work, The Twenty Years Crises, he referred to it as 'not exactly a Marxist work, but strongly impregnated with Marxist ways of thinking'1. Therefore although Carr may have certain realist foundations, there is undoubtedly more breadth to his thinking than a rigid classification of 'realist' would suggest. This essay will examine Carr the realist, compare this to his other reputations as a Marxist, a functionalist, and even a utopian, and assess whether Carr should have a more representative depiction.

It must be established that there is no 'one' realism that can be accurately used to describe the beliefs of all thinkers attributed the classification of a realist. Although we may group Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Waltz, Morganthau and Carr as realists, it is never assumed they subscribe to the same branch of realism: substantial differences