The politics of emerging middle powers

This article addresses a central problem in international relations: how emerging middle powers pursue upward status mobility within an international order structured by enduring hierarchies. It introduces the concept of the Emerging-Power Trap (EPT) to analyze how interactions between established great powers and emerging middle powers shape opportunities for recognition within global governance. Drawing on social constructivism and theories of stigmatization, the article conceptualizes the EPT as a systemic-level causal mechanism operating within international social hierarchy. The analysis shows how established powers deploy normative and institutional instruments that condition the status-seeking strategies of emerging actors, while still leaving room for agency. Empirically, the article examines how emerging middle powers grapple with these constraints through both individual and collective strategies, focusing on India’s nuclear trajectory and the recent expansion of the BRICS grouping.