Narrative-Dominant Collaboration Without Institutional Substrate: A Multi-Agent Field Collapse Case Analysis Using a 48-State Framework

This working paper presents an idiographic, multi-agent case analysis of a narrative-dominant collaboration field lacking formal institutional substrate. Using a 48-state interaction framework, the paper examines how temporary system stability was maintained through shared narratives rather than enforceable accountability mechanisms, and how the introduction of accountability cues precipitated rapid field collapse. The analysis treats the collapse as a structural failure mode of narrative-dominant collaboration systems, rather than as interpersonal conflict. The paper contributes to state-based inference, interaction field analysis, and early detection of collaboration risk under conditions of weak governance.