Functional and Performance-Based Theories of Institutional Decline
Outputs, Efficiency, and the Limits of Performance-Centered Governance ⸻ Introduction: Institutions as Systems of Performance Functional and performance-based theories approach institutions through an instrumental register: institutions are understood primarily as organized arrangements designed to produce predictable outputs over time. Their value is inferred less from symbolism, identity, or the moral texture of authority than from […]
Institutions, tranquility, and silent progress
An institutional reading of the United Arab Emirates experience Introduction – tranquility as a rare social condition In the contemporary international landscape, tranquility has become an increasingly rare social condition. Political volatility, institutional fragility, and the acceleration of decision-making processes have rendered stability an exception rather than a norm. Where tranquility does exist, it is […]
Political time: Governing in duration, deciding in urgency
Introduction – The Temporal Misunderstanding of Power Time is one of the most consistently misunderstood dimensions of political action. Contemporary political discourse tends to equate governance with immediacy: rapid responses, visible decisions, and short-term outcomes. Electoral cycles, media pressure, and institutional incentives increasingly compress political action into narrow temporal horizons. Yet historical experience demonstrates that […]
The bureaucratization of violence
When domination ceases to shock and begins to function Introduction Political violence does not operate solely through visible brutality, armed confrontation, or spectacular repression. In many historical and contemporary contexts, violence becomes effective precisely when it abandons excess and adopts order. Rather than erupting as an exceptional act, it settles into procedures, regulations, and administrative […]
The transformation of coercion into norm
How Power Converts Constraint into Obligation Introduction Coercion is commonly understood as the overt use of force to compel obedience. It appears as an exceptional act: visible, contestable, and morally charged. Yet in many political systems, coercion does not remain external to the social order. Over time, it is absorbed, stabilized, and rendered legitimate through […]
Strategy as the Capacity Not to React
Selectivity, Temporality, and the Exercise of Power in Signal-Saturated Environment Abstract In contemporary political, institutional, and organizational environments characterized by a dense proliferation of signals, strategy is increasingly conflated with responsiveness and speed. This article advances a counter-argument: strategic failure rarely results from insufficient information or delayed reaction, but rather from an inability to hierarchize […]
When Incentives Govern: How Political Systems Fail Without Failing Leaders
Introduction: Why Political Failure Is Rarely Accidental Political breakdown is commonly explained through personal failure. Leaders are accused of corruption, incompetence, or moral weakness. While such explanations satisfy public outrage, they rarely withstand systematic analysis. Across regions and regimes, similar patterns of failure recur even when leadership changes, expertise improves, or goodwill is publicly asserted. […]
The Taliban’s New “Principles Charter”:
Institutionalising fear, legal simulation, and the logic of authoritarian survival Governance, Coercion, and Structural Insecurity in Contemporary Afghanistan Editorial Status This article is published as part of an independent research and analytical initiative. The views expressed are solely those of the author. Published: January 2026 Abstract The Taliban’s recent promulgation of a new “principles charter” […]