Rising Powers and the Future International Order

The redistribution and diffusion of power in the international system have reflected the rise of new centres of power demanding their legitimate say. Speculation on the preferred strategy of established powers towards the demands of rising contenders has become an important concern. While some scholars believe that it will be accommodation, others think that it will be containment. This paper analyses why established states prefer to accommodate some rising powers while opposing others and finds that, to comprehend the prospects of accommodation, one must understand the intentions of the challengers. Since intentions and perceptions are shaped by domestic variables, attention has been given to four such factors, namely regime type, economic system, human rights regime and social system. This paper concludes that the prospects for accommodating nations with revisionist intentions and wider differences in terms of domestic variables vis-à-vis established powers are poorer than for status quoists and those with large-scale similarities.