Crisis of Relevance: Power Shifts, Institutional Adaptation, and the Future of WTO Reform

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is currently under a systemic crisis of relevance, as major nations like the U.S. turned to trade protectionism and global trade became more fragmented. This crisis originates not merely from political friction but from a structural failure to adapt to shifting global power dynamics and emerging 21st century issues. This thesis utilizes the framework of Historical Institutionalism (HI) to trace the organization's institutional evolution in the past three decades, and it argues that the current statements of relevancy is an inevitable consequence of long-term institutional development. The thesis evaluates WTO's contemporary institutional responses to the crisis, specifically the Joint Statement Initiatives (JSIs) and the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), as "institutional layerings." It then concludes that despite these mechanisms' short-term effectiveness in addressing the organization's immediate functionality, they are insufficient in the long-term and risk further fragmentation and the marginalization of the WTO's core multilateral design. In order to resolve this impasse, this thesis proposes a model of "institutional conversion," involving the deliberate re-purposing of existing institutions to recreate a de facto multilateral framework. The reform proposal includes reform measures on the JSI, MPIA, and the broader strategic direction of the organization in the future, aiming to transition the WTO from gradual decline back to an indispensable pillar of global economic governance.