The Two Faces of Revisionism

Introduction and Objectives: This article conceptualizes and analyzes the revisionism of two major global powers—China and the United States—within the liberal international order. Contrary to conventional approaches that portray China as the sole revisionist actor and the United States as the defender of the status quo, this research demonstrates that the United States has also become a revisionist power.Methods: Utilizing qualitative research methods, including case studies and document analysis, this article examines the revisionist behavior of these two countries across various domains, such as international security, the global economy, the environment, and human rights. China seeks gradual, multi-layered changes in the international order by emphasizing cooperation within existing institutions and the creation of new ones. In contrast, the United States aims for more radical changes by leveraging its institutional power and agency. This research concludes that understanding the dual revisionism of these two powers is essential for better comprehending the future trajectory of international politics and the potential for conflict or cooperation between them.Findings: The study's findings indicate that China, as an "embedded revisionist," strives to create gradual changes in the liberal international order through engagement with existing institutions and the establishment of new ones. China deepens its participation in international regimes, enhances access, and increases agency power, gradually and selectively altering aspects of these regimes while continuing to pursue this strategy. Conversely, the United States, as a "bridging revisionist," seeks to reconstruct the liberal international order through mobilizing alternative networks and broad institutional changes. The transformation of international security regimes by creating alternative networks, challenging financial, monetary, and trade regimes by developing a new sanction system and paralyzing the World Trade Organization, and efforts to redefine the human rights regime as a key normative dimension of the liberal international order are examples of the United States' strategic actions as a bridging revisionist.Conclusion: The analysis of the revisionist behavior of China and the United States within the liberal international order reveals that both powers operate as revisionists with differing approaches. China, as an embedded revisionist, seeks gradual changes through predominantly selective interactions with existing institutions, while the United States, as a bridging revisionist, seeks more radical changes by redesigning aspects of the international order, leveraging its high levels of access and agency power. However, both powers are so deeply intertwined in this rules-based order that revolutionary revisionism does not align with their interests. The dual revisionism underscores the emerging complexities in the transformation of the liberal international order. In other words, to better understand the transformation of the liberal international order, it is necessary to move beyond the conventional dichotomy of revisionist powers versus status quo powers. The mainstream literature on revisionism in international relations has excessively focused on China's discourse and behavior as the key revisionist power, leading to an oversimplification and reductionism of the complex realities of transformation within the liberal international order. Analyzing the discourse and behavior of the United States as a bridging revisionist, along with its complex interactions with China as an embedded revisionist, can contribute to a more coherent understanding of the forces reshaping the liberal international order.