Kuala Lampur, July 7 -- An article in Foresight analyses the governance crisis facing the World Trade Organisation, WTO. The paper argues that the WTO's legitimacy crisis stems fundamentally from a mismatch between its governance structures and the shifting power dynamics of the world economy, particularly the rise of emerging economies like China and India. Using four scenarios, the author concludes that pressure for profound governance reform will intensify as new forms of globalisation - including the rise of Global Value Chains and the proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements - reshape international commerce.

By 2014, the WTO found itself in a prolonged state of institutional deadlock. The Doha Round, launched in 2001 with an ambit...