Rethinking focal organizations. The World Trade Organization and the World Health Organization across time and space

Contemporary research on the state of the multilateral global order often paints a bleak picture, citing a crisis marked by the rise of populist governments, global polycrises, and intensifying rivalries between established and emerging powers. Within this context, the difficulties faced by focal organizations, typically regarded as the leading institutions within their respective policy domains, are seen as consequences of the broader crisis afflicting multilateralism. However, a more historically informed analysis reveals a complex set of dynamics underlying this apparent crisis. Since the end of World War II, focal organizations have arguably become more authoritative and influential. Across various domains, global challenges are increasingly shaped by the rules and decisions of these institutions, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) in global health and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in global trade. Yet, alongside this growing influence, focal organizations are experiencing intensifying pressures. In fields ranging from energy to migration, focal organizations operate within increasingly crowded and competitive institutional landscapes. In these dense systems, they are tasked with addressing ever more intricate challenges while contending with competition from states, non-state actors, and rival institutions.This dissertation explores the apparent paradox of focal organizations’ growing influence alongside their rising vulnerabilities, focusing on the challenges posed by alternative global governance institutions. Specifically, it examines how focal organizations develop within and in relation to their broader global governance complexes. Understanding why and how institutions traditionally regarded as uncontested leaders in their fields can grow more powerful yet increasingly vulnerable requires moving beyond analyses that treat focal organizations as static or isolated entities. Accordingly, this research advocates for a dual temporal and spatial lens to study focal organizations. Focal organizations’ current operations and challenges are shaped not only by their institutional trajectories and past experiences, but also by their historical and ongoing interactions with other actors in their environment. Thus, focal organizations develop across both time and space, with their strengths and weaknesses reflecting the interplay between internal developmental processes and external relationships with other institutions.Grounded in new institutionalist and regime complexity approaches, this dissertation introduces a ‘development-relational’ framework, connecting temporal institutional development with spatial inter-institutional dynamics. It traces the trajectories of two focal organizations – the WTO and its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), as well as WHO – from their postwar origins to the present. This analysis reveals how these institutions have both shaped and been shaped by the broader governance complexes for trade and health, highlighting the roles of various institutional actors in collaborating with or contesting their leadership.The findings of this work contribute to debates on global governance’s future, showing that even powerful institutions have historically faced significant internal and external challenges. Today’s multiple crises are therefore neither unprecedented nor necessarily existential. Furthermore, the research highlights that focal organizations are not passive entities subject solely to the whims of states. Instead, they actively navigate political and governance complexities, strategically managing inter-institutional relationships to defend their positions and achieve their objectives. By examining focal organizations’ historical adaptability and survival, this dissertation provides insights into the deeper causes of their current vulnerabilities and offers lessons for designing resilient institutions in an increasingly complex global landscape.