20.500.12556/DKUM-99350 From WTO-centered governance to a layered trade architecture functional allocation across institutional venues, 2000–2025 Global trade governance is being reshaped as multilateral rulemaking and dispute settlement face persistent constraints. However, it remains unclear whether this development signals institutional decline or a layered allocation of governance functions across interconnected venues. This study develops a functional-allocation framework and examines rulemaking, enforcement, and coordination across the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO-linked mechanisms, and regional trade agreements (RTAs). The framework distinguishes directly observable functional allocation from functional reallocation as a process-oriented interpretation of institutional change. The analysis combines a mapping of 282 RTA governance events entering into force between 2000 and 2025 with treaty content and institutional design data and a structured comparison of WTO core agreements, differentiated arrangements, enforcement supplements, and plurilateral initiatives. The findings identify a layered trade architecture rather than a simple shift away from the WTO. The WTO retains selected multilateral functions, differentiated arrangements sustain selective cooperation within its framework, and WTO-linked mechanisms supplement constrained appellate enforcement. RTAs provide additional venues for rulemaking, enforcement, and coordination. Among directly classified RTA events, formal adjudication increased from 76.0% in 2000–2004 to 100.0% in 2020–2025. Formal adjudication and institutionalized coordination are also positively associated with core substantive treaty depth. These patterns are consistent with functional allocation across a layered architecture, but do not establish that WTO constraints caused the observed institutional configurations. functional allocation layered trade architecture global trade governance World Trade Organization regional trade agreements institutional differentiation true false true Angleški jezik Angleški jezik Znanstveno delo 2026-08-13 14:13:02 2026-08-13 14:13:03 2026-08-14 03:10:40 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 str. 1-37 no. 8, spec. iss., [art. no.] 340 Vol. 14 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno NiDoloceno 2026-06-26 2026-08-11 2026-08-12 339.54:061.1 287731715 10.3390/economies14080340 2227-7099 https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/14/8/340 1 559b378e-9710-11f1-9cbc-00155d0001be https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=209400 RAZ_Logozar_Klavdij_2026.pdf RAZ_Logozar_Klavdij_2026.pdf 1 44ED5810A847063E794AFE0D338E3349 ce3b7d17b7df3409a7987fe397190dd37d66b7edad6d49eda3fb292499e40aa5 90db212c-9710-11f1-9cbc-00155d0001be https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=209401 Ekonomsko-poslovna fakulteta 0 0 0