Beijing's Rise and Revisionism. Empirical Evidence and Theoretical Shortcomings in International Relations

Abstract

The rise of revisionist powers is deemed to be a haunting recurring pattern of international politics. When the power transition is ripe — the logic goes — they usually challenge the international order and strive to change it with a more beneficial one. The article aims to provide a preliminary test of the concepts and notions produced so far by the International Relations (IR) literature on revisionism by applying them to the case of contemporary Chinese foreign policy. As it will be seen, IR theory displays persistent fallacies regarding many aspects, both substantive and methodological. These hamper a useful theory-driven contribution on Chinese foreign policy as well as an empirical contribution to a more general theorization on revisionism. Finally, the article aims to sketch unexplored avenues of research that could advance the scholarship on the topic.