The WTO: a hybrid and resilient organisation

International organisations are difficult to understand for those who are interested in the management of organisations. These organisations are neither companies with structured governance nor administrations subject to well-known public authorities. They have to cope with many inconsistencies which include handling important issues with reduced financial resources, being efficient in the short-term, but ensuring their legitimacy in the long-term, and maintaining their autonomy while still being part of an active network. In the face of these paradoxes, the WTO (World Trade Organisation) has developed original strategies which are a clever mix of the official and the unofficial, the formal and the informal, and also standing up to change and permanently reinventing its projects. In this way, it manages to incorporate changes in its environment while protecting itself from the pressure exerted by its mandators.