E. H. Carr,Dostoevsky,and the Problem of Irrationality in Modern Europe

Despite a number of recent studies of Carr’s classical theory of international relations, scholars still virtually ignore his early biographical works, especially the one on Dostoevsky. By recovering the connection between Carr’s view on international politics and that on Dostoevsky, the present article attempts to advance our understanding about the meaning of Carr’s realism–utopianism dichotomy. What Carr tried to do in The Twenty Years’ Crisis was to transcend the nihilistic relativism that appeared as a corollary of the rise of the problem of human irrationality. Carr learned from Dostoevsky the epochal meaning of this problem as well as vital insights for generating his own solution to it. Thus arguing, the present article aims at renewing our awareness of the significance of context in the inquiries into early International Relations as well as adding another contribution to the recent revisions of classical realism.