Definition: The extent to which democratic norms, accountability, and institutional trust are eroded due to cumulative transactional interactions.
Range: 0<=D<=1, where 0 represents fully intact legitimacy and 1 represents complete degradation.
Role in Model: Serves as a macro-level outcome influenced by the aggregation of micro-level rationalizations (), legislative behavior (), and meso-level social norms ().
5. System Stability (S)
Definition: The overall resilience or stability of the political system, determined by the trade-off between monetary incentives () and perceived justice () and modulated by democratic degradation ().
Range: Can take positive or negative values:
S > 0: System tends toward authoritarian consolidation, with passive compliance.
S < 0: System tends toward anarchy or social unrest, with active resistance.
Role in Model: Represents the ultimate trajectory of the political system, linking micro-, meso-, and macro-level dynamics.
6. Variable Interactions Summary
These variables form the building blocks for the differential equations and feedback loops that model TDD dynamics, allowing for simulation of critical thresholds and bifurcations in political stability.