LSE: The Ballpark | America as a revisionist power with Professor Phillips O’Brien
In the past decade, America has taken steps that appear deliberately designed to unmake the international order which it set up more than 50 years ago. This has led some commentators to argue that the US is now a revisionist power, seeking to undermine the liberal international order in favour of the ideals of America First.
To understand the consequences of this shift in America’s foreign policy, in October 2026 the Phelan US Centre spoke with Professor Phillips O’Brien, Professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews, to discuss what America’s revisionism means for the rest of the world, and how permanent its changes are for the global order.
This episode was produced by Chris Gilson and Avan Fata.
Further reading and resources
- Phillips O’Brien, War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why. (Penguin, 2025)
- Ukraine Russia War Talk podcast with Phillips O'Brien and Mykola Bielieskov
- Phillips O’Brien’s Substack
- America as a revisionist power LSE Event recording [YouTube]
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