Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Conceptual foundations -- Institutional status theory -- The United States and the Atlantic system in the nineteenth century -- Japan and the Washington system of the interwar period -- India and the international order of the Cold War -- China and the liberal international order -- Conclusion.

"Using original and robust archival evidence, the book examines these dynamics in three cases: the United States and the maritime laws of war in the mid-nineteenth century; Japan and naval arms control in the interwar period; and India and nuclear nonproliferation in the Cold War. This study shows that the future of contemporary international order depends on the ability of international institutions to address the status ambitions of rising powers such as China and India"--