Seminar Abstract

A state’s revisionist motivation or its commitment to the status quo of international order is an important part of international relations dynamics as well as an enduring topic in the study of international politics. But the topic lacks systematic inquiry into the origin, motivation, evolution, and patterns of revisionism international relations until recently. In this talk, I will discuss the meaning of revisionism in international relations, its historical evolution, and different types of revisionist states and their strategies in the context of the transformation of international order. I will also discuss related interesting questions such as: A rising power and a ruling power, which one is more revisionist? Between China and the United States, whom is more revisionist and why? What are implications of a rising China for the future transformation of international order?

About the Speaker

Richard W. Hu is a UM Development Foundation Distinguished Professor and Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences of University of Macau. He is also an Honorary Professor of Politics and International Affairs at University of Hong Kong, where he taught over 20 years and served as Head of Department of Politics and Public Administration.  He was a John M. Olin Fellow in National Security Studies at Harvard University, IGCC Postdoc Fellow at UC San Diego, and CNAPS Fellow at Brookings Institution. He has authored and edited five books and published around 100 journal articles and book chapters. His latest publications include “Discerning States’ Revisionist and Status-Quo Orientations: Comparing China and the U.S.”, European Journal of International Relations, 25-2: 613-640 (2019), and “Xi Jinping’s ‘Major Country Diplomacy’: The Role of Leadership in Foreign Policy Transformation,” Journal of Contemporary China, 28:115, 1-14 (2019).