This book develops a systematic framework for explaining and measuring informal hierarchy in minilateral arrangements. Introducing the Access-Protocol-Recognition-Status (APRS) model, it distinguishes access to consequential settings from the protocols that organise and sustain participation. The model links these dimensions to recognition by relevant audiences and examines when such recognition consolidates into durable relational standing. The empirical analysis centres on the Quad, I2U2, and IMEC, with the Colombo Security Conclave, IBSA, and BRICS used to test the framework's scope and limits. Consistent coding rules track participation and standing over time, supported by sensitivity checks to assess the robustness of the findings. Figures and worked examples, including the Quad's 2023 Hiroshima summit, demonstrate the framework's application. The appendices provide the coding guide and baseline dataset for 2017-2025, supporting replication and comparative research. Connecting debates on informal institutions, club goods, and status politics, the book examines how recurring practices such as meeting calendars, communiqués, and hosting arrangements can stabilise participation and recognition without treaty-based institutions.

It explains how these practices can accumulate into informal hierarchy over time. By combining conceptual distinctions with transparent measurement rules, the book offers a framework that researchers can adapt across different minilateral and informal arrangements, alongside resources for comparative research and teaching. Sujata Ashwarya is Professor at the Centre for West Asian Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. Her research spans international relations, institutional and status politics, the political economy of energy, and West Asian politics, with a current focus on minilateral forums and informal hierarchy. She is co-editor, with Mujib Alam, of Comparative Electoral Politics in West Asia and North Africa (Palgrave Macmillan, 2026). She has published extensively in national and international journals and with academic publishers.