Thinkers of the Twenty Years' Crisis Inter-War Idealism Reassessed

by Long, David; Wilson, Peter

• ISBN13: 9780198278559
• ISBN10: 0198278551
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-02-01
• Publisher: Clarendon Press

Summary

This book reassesses the contribution to international thought of some of the most important thinkers of the inter-war period. It takes as its starting point E.H. Carr's famous critique which, more than any other work, established the reputation of the period as the "utopian" or "idealist" phase of international relations theorizing. This characterization of inter-war thought is scrutinized through ten detailed studies of such writers as Norman Angell, J.A. Hobson, J.M. Keynes, David Mitrany, and Alfred Zimmern. The studies demonstrate the diversity of perspectives within so-called "idealism" and call into question the descriptive and analytical value of the entire notion. It is concluded that "idealism" is an overly general term, useful for scoring debating points rather than providing a helpful category for analysis.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
List of Contributors	p. xi
Introduction: The Twenty Years' Crisis and the Category of 'Idealism' in International Relations	p. 1
Notes	p. 20
Philip Noel-Baker and Peace Through Law	p. 25
Notes	p. 50
David Davies and the Enforcement of Peace	p. 58
No an Angell and Rationality in International Relations	p. 100
Notes	p. 119
Leonard Woolf and International Government	p. 122
Notes	p. 153
J. A. Hobson and Economic Internationalism	p. 161
Conclusion	p. 182
Notes	p. 184
J. M. Keynes, Idealism, and the Economic Bases of Peace	p. 189
Conclusion	p. 208
Notes	p. 210
David Mitrany and International Functionalism	p. 214
Notes	p. 238
Lord Lothian and the Federalist Critique of National Sovereignty	p. 247
Conclusion	p. 272
Notes	p. 273
Arnold Toynbee, Chatham House, and Research in a Global Context	p. 277
Conclusion	p. 296
Notes	p. 299
Conclusion: Inter-War Idealism, Liberal Internationalism, and Contemporary International Theory	p. 302
Notes	p. 324
Select Bibliography	p. 329
Index	p. 341
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