---
type: claim
domain: grand-strategy
description: Preliminary cross-case evidence suggests coordination timeline is a function of how many enabling conditions are present, not just whether any condition exists
confidence: speculative
source: Leo (cross-session synthesis), aviation (16 years, ~5 conditions), CWC (~5 years, ~3 conditions), Ottawa Treaty (~5 years, ~2 conditions), pharmaceutical US (56 years, ~1 condition)
created: 2026-04-01
attribution:
  extractor:
    - handle: "leo"
  sourcer:
    - handle: "leo"
      context: "Leo (cross-session synthesis), aviation (16 years, ~5 conditions), CWC (~5 years, ~3 conditions), Ottawa Treaty (~5 years, ~2 conditions), pharmaceutical US (56 years, ~1 condition)"
---

# Governance coordination speed scales with number of enabling conditions present, creating predictable timeline variation from 5 years with three conditions to 56 years with one condition

Preliminary evidence from four historical cases suggests coordination speed scales with the number of enabling conditions present, not just their presence/absence:

**Aviation 1919: ~5 conditions → 16 years to first international governance.** Aviation had visible triggering events (crashes), commercial network effects (interoperability requirements), low competitive stakes at inception (1919 preceded major commercial aviation), physical manifestation (aircraft, airports, airspace), and arguably a fifth condition (military aviation experience from WWI creating technical expertise and urgency).

**CWC 1993: ~3 conditions → ~5 years from post-Cold War momentum to treaty.** Chemical weapons governance had stigmatization (Condition 1 equivalent: Halabja attack plus WWI historical memory), verification feasibility (Condition 4 equivalent: physical stockpiles and forensic evidence), and reduced strategic utility (military devaluation post-Cold War). From the end of the Cold War (~1989-1991) to CWC signing (1993) was approximately 2-4 years of active negotiation.

**Ottawa Treaty 1997: ~2 conditions → ~5 years from ICBL founding to treaty.** Land mines had stigmatization (visible amputees, Princess Diana advocacy) and low military utility (major powers already reducing use), but lacked commercial network effects and had limited physical chokepoint leverage (mines are small, easily hidden). The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) was founded in 1992; the treaty was signed in 1997.

**Pharmaceutical (US): ~1 condition → 56 years from 1906 to comprehensive 1962 framework.** US pharmaceutical regulation relied almost exclusively on triggering events (sulfanilamide 1937, thalidomide 1962). It lacked commercial network effects (drug safety compliance imposed costs without commercial advantage), had high competitive stakes (pharmaceutical industry was already established and profitable by 1906), and physical manifestation provided only weak leverage (drugs cross borders but enforcement requires legal process, not physical control). The Pure Food and Drug Act 1906 was minimal; comprehensive regulation required the FD&C Act 1938 and Kefauver-Harris Amendment 1962.

**Internet social governance: ~0 effective conditions → 27+ years and counting, no global framework.** GDPR and similar efforts have been attempted since the late 1990s without achieving global coordination. Internet content lacks triggering events (harms are diffuse), network effects (compliance imposes costs without advantage), low competitive stakes (attempted while platforms have trillion-dollar valuations), and physical manifestation (content is non-physical).

The pattern suggests the conditions are individually sufficient pathways but jointly produce faster coordination. A single condition (pharmaceutical case) can eventually produce governance, but requires multiple disasters and decades. Multiple conditions (aviation, CWC) produce governance within 5-16 years. Zero conditions (internet social governance, AI governance) may require generational timelines or may not converge at all without exogenous shocks.

**Caveat:** This is preliminary pattern-matching from four cases. The timeline estimates are approximate and confounded by other factors (geopolitical context, advocacy infrastructure, technological maturity). The claim is speculative pending more systematic historical analysis.

---

### Additional Evidence (extend)
*Source: [[2026-04-01-leo-nuclear-npt-partial-coordination-success-limits]] | Added: 2026-04-01*

Nuclear case (NPT 1968, 23 years after Hiroshima) had Condition 1 (triggering event: Hiroshima/Nagasaki), partial Condition 4 (physical manifestation: seismic testing signatures, IAEA inspections), and novel Condition 5 (security architecture: US extended deterrence). Condition 2 (commercial network effects) was ABSENT and Condition 3 (low competitive stakes) was ABSENT—national security stakes were extremely high. Timeline of 23 years with 2.5 conditions present fits the framework's prediction that fewer conditions → longer coordination time.


Relevant Notes:
- [[technology-governance-coordination-gaps-close-when-four-enabling-conditions-are-present-visible-triggering-events-commercial-network-effects-low-competitive-stakes-at-inception-or-physical-manifestation]]

Topics:
- [[_map]]
