The Ontological Core of Registration Regime Theory (RRT) Registration, Time, and the Precondition of Governance

Registration Regime Theory (RRT) advances a foundational reorientation of social and political theory by placing registration — rather than production, discourse, or coercion — at the ontological core of power and governance. The paper argues that governance operates primarily through the management of time via systems of inscription, recording, and certification. Registration is not treated as a representational or administrative practice, but as an ontological technology that stabilizes social reality by binding identities, rights, obligations, and futures to durable records. This article articulates the core ontological claims of RRT, clarifies its conceptual boundaries, and establishes registration as a time-governing infrastructure that precedes sovereignty, law, and governance itself.