Carr: The Twenty Years crisis

Edward Hallett Carr. The Twenty Years’ Crisis

Part 1 National Interest and the Universal Good (pp. 96-102)

Before you read

I. Think over the following questions

  1. What do you know about the author of the text? What is his contribution to the theory of international relations? Have you read anything by this author before? (https://www.britannica.com/biography/E-H-Carr)
  2. Skim the text very quickly and say who it is intended for.
  3. What is the register of the text?

II. Do some Internet research and look up the information on the following:

  • Walewski’s maxim
  • John Bull
  • Abyssinian crisis
  • Tammany leader

*Note the pronunciation of the name of 26th American President Franclin D. Roosevelt [roʊzəvəlt]  

While you read

Read the text carefully, pencil in hand and

  • find the following words in the text; try to guess their meanings using the context

expose (verb)

cull from (verb)

contend (verb)

belligerency (noun)

petty (adjective)

admonish (verb)

utterance (noun)

  • find Russian equivalents of the words above
  • match the words from the list with their less formal synonyms

expose                    statement

cull                         show

contend                  rebuke

belligerence          unimportant

petty                      hostility

admonish              choose

utterance              claim

Read the text again and elucidate on the following notions:

postulate

doctrine

maxim

proposition

After you read

I. Answer the following questions:

  1. How does the author criticise the utopian thought?
  2. What two propositions does the utopian find identical?
  3. The author quotes quite a few Anglo-Saxon writers of late 19th – early 20th ct. How do these writers justify the maintenance of British supremacy in the world?
  4. What triggered doubts as to British supremacy as one of the moral assets of mankind? Did this disillusionment linger?
  5. Give examples from the text of the American presidents identifying their action with pursuing universal good. Could you give more examples of the kind?
  6. The author claims that this tendency to identify national interests with universal right prevails among Anglo-Saxon statesmen and writers. What are the two explanations for this?
  7. Does the author support either of the above explanations? What is the real reason for British supremacy?

     II. Summarise the ideas of the chapter. Assess the text critically according to the following criteria:

  • novelty (have you learned anything new?)
  • relevance (is this information relevant? Will it be of any use in your own research paper?)
  • complexity (was it hard to grasp the main ideas of the text?)

Part 2 National Interest and the Universal Good (pp. 102-107)

Before you read

Do some Internet research to find out the definitions and information on the following:

Pax Romana/ Pax Britannica

Laisser-faire

protectionist countries

under-privileged nations

While you read

I. Read the text carefully, pencil in hand and

  • find the following words in the text; try to guess their meanings using the context

assailant (noun)

invoke (verb)

entail (verb)

assert (verb)

denounce (verb)

dismiss (verb)

device (noun)

inferior (adjective)

discredit (noun)

menace (verb)

  • find Russian equivalents of the words above
  • match the words from the list with their less formal synonyms
incur
vest
preponderance      
plausible
commend
benighted  
reasonable
present
predominance
ignorant
grant
experience

II. Read the text again and elucidate on the following notions:

assumption

identification

assertion

implication

abandonment

After you read

I. Answer the following questions

  1. What is the doctrine of the harmony of interests based on?
  2. Why is the doctrine considered to be an ingenious moral device?
  3. In what way can the alleged natural harmony of interests correspond to the Machiavellian maxim?
  4. What historical examples may serve to illustrate the doctrine of the harmony of interests?
  5. What underlying disparity triggered the denial of the natural harmony of interests and adoption of a new harmony by artificial means?
  6. What analogy can be drawn between Roman and British imperialism of the past and present supremacy vested in the dominant group of nations?
  7. What principle is depicted in Churchill’s statement that “the fortunes of the British Empire and its glory are inseparably interwoven with the fortunes of the world”?

II. Summarise the ideas of the 2nd part of the chapter. Assess the text critically according to the following   criteria:

  • novelty (have you learned anything new?)
  • relevance (is this information relevant? Will it be of any use in your own research paper?)
  • complexity (was it hard to grasp the main ideas of the text?)