The Asymmetry of Power: Governance Recovery Constraints, Authority Provenance, and Institutional Realignment in Distributed Governance

Governance Recovery Constraint Model (GRCM) Version 2.0. This preprint presents the second major development of the Governance Recovery Constraint Model (GRCM), a theoretical framework explaining the structural asymmetry between authority loss and authority recovery in distributed governance systems. Version 2.0 substantially extends the original formulation by incorporating authority provenance, institutional realignment, conceptual refinements, and integration with the broader Institutional Authority Dynamics (IAD) research program. The manuscript further clarifies the theoretical foundations of governance recovery constraints while strengthening the framework's relationship to institutional authority, distributed governance, and political power. This version supersedes GRCM Version 1.0 and represents the current public version of the framework.