Why Is Washington Acting Like a Revisionist Power?

Why Is Washington Acting Like a Revisionist Power?

The U.S. made a global order that it’s now obsessed with overthrowing.

Trump stands at a podium in a dark suit and red tie, both hands outstretched as he gesticulates. A green marble wall is visible behind him. November 18, 2025, 4:55 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Not long after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, a European friend asked me: Why is the United States behaving like a revisionist power when it so clearly benefits from the status quo? The only answer that I could offer was that, rightly or wrongly, American leaders no longer viewed the status quo as beneficial following the 9/11 attacks.

The Sept. 11 attacks crystallized a certain then-contemporary anxiety that had not previously translated into policy—the idea t