MEASURED REVISIONISM: ALTERING POWER RELATIONS BETWEEN THE STATUS QUO STATES AND RISING CHALLENGERS IN THE CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL ORDER

PEJIĆ Igor (PhD student at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, Department for European and International Studies), amon.sum@gmail.com

This paper offers a conceptual framework on how rising and revisionist powers perceive their position in the contemporary international order. The argument of the paper is focused on the structure of the unipolar order and how such order produces a hierarchy that is differently accepted by other actors in world politics. Namely, the rising powers as potential challengers to the status quo have different approaches when assessing their future position in the already established international order. However, due to the complexity of the international order and embedded interdependence of the contemporary states, revisionism as a method of altering the status quo works differently than in the previous eras of world politics. That is to say, the scope of modern revisionism is heavily limited, which is induced by the structure of the unipolar order as well as the fact that revisionists today lack ideological foundations to alter the core principles of the order. Therefore, modern revisionism is measured or soft, not directed towards changing the core principles of the order, but rather directed towards altering the established hierarchy on which the current leading power operates the international system. The paper addresses the subject from a qualitative perspective, analysing the structural constraints of the contemporary order and how it all reflects on the possible revisionist efforts. The goal of this research attempt is to present the differences between rising and revisionist powers and what strategical approaches are available for the modern revisionists in order to accomplish their geopolitical ambitions.

Keywords: Measured Revisionism, International Order, Rising Powers, Unipolarity, Status Quo