pahenevan

Pahenevan is a fictional term used in worldbuilding and speculative scholarship to denote a cyclical, polycentric model of governance. It describes a system in which political power is distributed across multiple local councils rather than centralized in a single sovereign authority. The concept is used to explore how large regions can coordinate policy while preserving local autonomy.

The word pahenevan is constructed for fictional purposes. In the imagined language landscape that accompanies the concept, pahene- is a root meaning “gather” or “convene” and -van denotes “assembly” or “place of meeting.”

Under a pahenevan regime, local councils meet during a recurring season to deliberate on shared challenges, with leadership rotating among subgroups. Decisions require broad consensus and formalized protocols to avoid gridlock. The system includes checks and balances, such as cross-council committees and temporary appointive roles to address emergent issues.

In fictional works, pahenevan is often used to illustrate contrasts with centralized states and to examine the dynamics of trust, legitimacy, and conflict resolution in polycentric governance. Some scholars discuss its feasibility, pointing to potential problems such as inter-council coordination costs and the risk of factionalism.

Related concepts include federation, confederation, deliberative democracy, and consensus-based decision making.