(GC-arc9/Math5/GQR35): Pruning Dynamics and the Regeneration of Admissible Paths.

Governance systems fail not solely through external shock or poor optimisation, but throughthe gradual collapse of admissible paths under accumulating constraints. Capacity-limited gov-ernance and admissible-path collapse were formalised in Sutton [2]. Here we extend that frame-work dynamically. This article formalises governance as a time-dependent process in whichadmissible paths must be actively regenerated, not merely preserved. Central to this process ispruning: the deliberate removal of constraints as a first-class governance operation rather than acorrective afterthought. We show that rule creation is structurally irreversible, while admissiblepath continuity is not, leading to predictable tipping points unless pruning is treated as intrinsicto governance. We further identify diagnostic signals that precede collapse and outline a min-imal, domain-agnostic game—Pruning—that captures these dynamics without agents, payoffs,or optimisation.