Editing Openai/695befc4-bd88-800c-8faa-3a817e670a41 (section)

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This is the core variable.
* In a constitutional system: power can be lost through lawful processes (elections, courts, succession).
* In an imperial system: power is retained regardless of outcomes, with elections becoming symbolic or manipulable.

Once reversibility is gone, labels stop mattering.

===== It’s not just whether elections occur, but whether: =====
* opposition can campaign freely,
* votes are counted and certified,
* outcomes are respected,
* losers actually leave office.

If those conditions persist, the system is still meaningfully “the United States” in constitutional terms — even if degraded.

If they fail, elections cease to be a real differentiator.

===== Even when captured, institutions can still: =====
* delay,
* leak,
* refuse,
* reinterpret,
* or fracture internally.

This matters because it keeps outcomes uncertain.

Empires are defined not by brutality alone, but by predictability of obedience.

===== This is subtle but critical. =====

As long as a large share of the population believes:
* outcomes should be reversible,
* leaders can be replaced,
* norms still matter,

the system behaves differently than one where those beliefs collapse.

Empires consolidate when disbelief becomes normal.