E.H. Carr’s Theory of Law: Exploring the Elements and Problems of International Law

The overall understanding of E.H. Carr has held his thought to be simpler than his published works reveal. Carr’s thought and approach to international relations have been the subject of a number of works, with recent revisionist literature pointing at the generally limited understanding of his work and the ill-fitting nature of the traditional ‘realist’ label. This revisionist literature has remained limited due to the lack of engagement with Carr’s works beyond the Twenty Years’ Crisis, and therefore overlook the ideas which are expressed throughout them. Focusing on these ignored works, this paper offers a reinterpretation of Carr’s theory of international law. This is done through the analysis of International Relations Between the Two World Wars, Britain: A Study of Foreign Policy, The Twenty Years’ Crisis, Conditions of Peace, Nationalism and After, The New Society, German-Soviet Relations, and his History of Soviet Russia series. Through these, this paper explores the different elements of Carr’s thought on international law. Ultimately contending that this rarely tackled aspect of Carr’s theory of international relations is both clearly present in his works and of great relevance in today’s international world.