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This book develops a theory of international stability which it tests, with positive results, on two of the important institutions of contemporary world politics - the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund. It shows that states care passionately about their relative positions in important hierarchies of influence and that the ability of such hierarchies to adapt in line with shifts in the international distribution of power is vital to the overall stability of the international system. The book emphasizes the central role played by institutional design in determining the relative flexibility or rigidity of hierarchies of influence: even in technical issue-areas, such as that occupied by the IMF, where relative capabilities of states and changes thereof, may be quite easily measured. The book thus transcends the question of whether institutions matter in world politics. While it clearly demonstrates that they do matter, it shows that institutions may both contribute to and detract from international stability.

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• List of Figures(p. viii)
• Acknowledgements(p. ix)
• 1 Introduction(p. 1)
• Of Firemen and Racing Drivers(p. 1)
• Overview of the Argument(p. 3)
• Overview of the Chapters(p. 6)
• 2 Confusing Stability with Peace and Status-quo(p. 10)
• Introduction(p. 10)
• The Trajectory of "Stability" in International Relations(p. 12)
• The Association of Stability with Peace(p. 33)
• The Association of Stability with Status-quo(p. 38)
• Revival of the Polarity Debate and Re-appraisal of Stability(p. 39)
• Conclusion(p. 42)
• 3 Stability as Process(p. 46)
• Introduction(p. 46)
• Gilpin on International Stability(p. 47)
• Some Short-comings of Gilpin's Approach(p. 49)
• The Status Inconsistency Approach to International Stability(p. 53)
• Towards a Dynamic Understanding of Stability(p. 54)
• An Alternative Definition of Stability(p. 68)
• Departures From Gilpin's Model(p. 70)
• Positioning the Theory of Stability(p. 73)
• Conclusion(p. 77)
• 4 Towards Testing the Hypotheses(p. 79)
• Introduction(p. 79)
• Specifying the Variables(p. 80)
• Delimiting the Universe(p. 80)
• Generating Predictions(p. 81)
• Operationalising the Central Concepts(p. 81)
• Choosing a Research Methodology(p. 83)
• Choosing the Cases(p. 87)
• Introducing an Additional Independent Variable(p. 89)
• Increasing the Number of Observations(p. 90)
• Postulating Causality(p. 92)
• Overview of Research Strategy(p. 93)
• 5 Hierarchy and Flexibility in the UN Security Council(p. 95)
• Introduction(p. 95)
• The Genesis of Security Council Hierarchy(p. 95)
• The Nature of Security Council Hierarchy(p. 98)
• The Genesis of Security Council Flexibility(p. 105)
• The Nature of Security Council Flexibility(p. 108)
• Conclusion(p. 109)
• 6 The 1965 Reform of the UN Security Council(p. 114)
• Introduction(p. 114)
• The Prelude to Reform(p. 115)
• The Geographic Impulse for Reform; Article 108(p. 115)
• The Constitutional Impulse for Reform; Article 109(p. 118)
• Soviet Opposition to Charter Amendment(p. 120)
• The Reversal of the Soviet Position(p. 121)
• Content of the 1965 Reform(p. 123)
• Conclusion(p. 124)
• 7 Positionality, Tension and Instability in the UN Security Council(p. 127)
• Introduction(p. 127)
• Upward Positionality(p. 128)
• Downward Positionality(p. 141)
• Tension(p. 147)
• Diffusing the Tension(p. 156)
• Conclusion(p. 159)
• 8 Hierarchy and Flexibility in the International Monetary Fund(p. 163)
• Introduction(p. 163)
• The Genesis of the IMF Hierarchy(p. 163)
• The Nature of the IMF Hierarchy(p. 171)
• The Genesis of IMF Flexibility(p. 176)
• The Nature of IMF Flexibility(p. 177)
• Conclusion(p. 184)
• 9 Positionality, Tension and Stability in the International Monetary Fund(p. 187)
• Introduction(p. 187)
• Upward and Downward Positionality in the IMF 1946-1995(p. 188)
• First Evidence of Positional Conflict(p. 190)
• The Demotion of China and the Promotion of Germany(p. 198)
• The De-coupling of German and French Quotas(p. 200)
• The Rise of Japan(p. 201)
• Unchanging Hierarchy(p. 203)
• A Hierarchy Transformed(p. 208)
• Conclusion(p. 213)
• 10 Reviewing (and Restating) the Hypotheses(p. 216)
• Introduction(p. 216)
• The Strategy of Analysis(p. 216)
• On Reorganisation and Institutionalisation(p. 217)
• On Differential Growth(p. 220)
• On Upward Positionality(p. 220)
• On Downward Positionality(p. 223)
• On Tension(p. 228)
• On Conflict(p. 231)
• Restating the Hypotheses(p. 232)
• Conclusion(p. 233)
• 11 Conclusion(p. 235)
• Bibliography(p. 245)