| Summary/Abstract |
Witnessing power shifts among major countries in the world, scholars and policymakers alike are confronted with crucial questions about the international institutional order: Do power shifts expedite the collapse of the order? Who are its major challengers, and why? This article tackles these issues, drawing on rationalist theories of international institutions that include both realist and neoliberal thinking. I analyse how the making of the international institutional order, along with its evolution, informs us of the sources of challenges to that order. Accordingly, I explain why the country most powerful in making the international institutional order—thus the apparent beneficiary of that order—ends up nursing so many grievances against it. I illustrate this thesis in the areas of collective security, international trade, and democracy promotion. This article contributes to important debates on global governance and raises policy implications for the rewriting of international rules.
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