ON THE FRAGILITY OF INSTITUTIONS

The final chapter, On the Fragility of Institutions, brings the exhibition to a close by turning attention to the systems that structure collective life and the pressures that expose their limits. Reflecting the current state of things, which is marked by intersecting political crises, renewed geopolitical conflict, the rise of authoritarian tendencies, and the gradual erosion of democratic norms in many places around the world, this chapter addresses how institutions are simultaneously pillars of stability and sites of vulnerability and potential abuse. It considers the tensions between endurance and breakdown, authority and accountability, continuity and change. Through works that engage with law, statecraft, governance, bureaucracy, nationalism, and militarism, the section asks how institutional frameworks shape experience while also revealing their fractures. At the same time, it opens space for imagining forms of resistance, solidarity, and renewal that might emerge within and beyond these structures.