This book analyzes Russian and Chinese revisionism in the face of US and Western post-Cold War liberal international order building and asks why both powers have turned revisionist in the late 2000s. The study develops a neoclassical realist model of international order building and contestation and posits to view revisionism as a strategic choice. States go revisionist if the status quo international order threatens their vital security needs (broadly defined not only as territorial security, but also political, economic, normative and ontological) and if they have the means to challenge the undesirable status quo. Russia and China were both unhappy with the post-Cold War international order of American designs, but had to opt for accommodation in the 1990s and early 2000s (“strategic accommodation” in the Chinese case, “resentful accommodation” in the Russian case), before revisionism became even more of a necessity and a real policy option from the late 2000s onward (“constructive revisionism” in the Chinese case, “destructive revisionism” in the Russian case). The author calls for a policy of neo-containment to counter Moscow’s and Beijing’s efforts to game and erode the international order.
Author(s): Gerlinde Groitl
Series: Palgrave Studies in International Relations
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 455
City: Cham
Acknowledgements
Contents
List of Figures
Part I Introduction
1 Enduring Rivals: The Return of Great Power Politics Between Russia, China, and the West
The Puzzle: Great Power Politics in a Globalized World
The State of the Debate: Literature Review
The Road Ahead: Research Design
Works Cited
Part II Theory of International Order Building and Revisionism
2 Falling Short: International Order and Revisionism in IR Theory
Dependent Variable: Revisionism
International Order and Revisionism: State of the Debate in IR Theory
Neorealist Voids, Realist Opportunities
Works Cited
3 Strategic Choices: Neoclassical Realist Model of Order and Revisionism
Assumptions of Neoclassical Realism
Power, National Interests, and International Order
International Order as Systemic Constraint, Revisionism as Strategic Choice
Hypothesis: Russian and Chinese Revisionism Toward the US-Led Order
Works Cited
Part III Western Triumph and Non-Western Accommodation in the 1990s
4 False History: Globalization of the US-Led Liberal West and Its Delusions
Historical Legacies and Trajectories
Post-Cold War Globalization of the US-Led Liberal West
Constraints on Russia and China
Works Cited
5 Russia’s Fall: Resentful Accommodation to Grim Post-Cold War Realities
Historical Legacies
National Interests and Propensity to Adapt
Opportunity Structure and Strategic Response
Works Cited
6 China’s Rise: Strategic Accommodation to Post-Cold War Opportunities
Historical Legacies
National Interests and Propensity to Adapt
Opportunity Structure and Strategic Response
Works Cited
Part IV Western Crisis and Anti-Western Revisionism from the Late 2000s
7 Return of History: Outgrowth Amidst Erosion of the US-Led Liberal Order
Follies and Discontents of Liberal Order Building from the 2000s
Constraints on Russia and China
Works Cited
8 Russia’s Nightmare: Destructive Revisionism for Great Power Survival
Balance of Interests and Propensity to Adapt
Window of Strategic Opportunity
Strategic Response: Destructive Revisionism
Works Cited
9 China’s Dream: Constructive Revisionism for Great Rejuvenation
Balance of Interests and Propensity to Adapt
Window of Strategic Opportunity
Strategic Response: Constructive Revisionism
Works Cited
Part V Conclusion
10 Geopolitical Realities: The Case for Neo-Containment Against Russia and China
Theoretical and Empirical Findings
Strategic Options for the West
Index
