# Policy Drift **Domain:** Deep Time / Political Science / Institutional Change **Doc Type:** Canonical Wiki Entry **Maturity:** Developed **Evidence / Concept Status:** Established historical-institutionalist concept ## Definition **Policy Drift** occurs when rules remain formally stable while environmental, technological, economic, or social conditions change enough to alter their practical effects. ## Why It Matters for Deep Time Continuity It provides the immediate intellectual precursor to Ontological Drift. ## Existing Architecture / Evidence Historical institutionalist literature treats drift as a major mode of gradual institutional transformation. ## Deep-Time Continuity Analysis When technology changes the nature of 'copy,' 'account,' 'model,' or 'deceased,' an unchanged rule may acquire new consequences. ## Evidentiary Boundary Policy drift concerns changed effects; Ontological Drift specifically concerns changed kinds of regulated entities. ## Related Ontology [[wiki/Ontological Drift|Ontological Drift]] · [[wiki/Policy Layering|Policy Layering]] · [[wiki/Institutional Conversion|Institutional Conversion]] <!-- BEGIN DEEP TIME CONTINUITY ROUTING --> ## Canonical Branch [[wiki/Deep Time Continuity|Deep Time Continuity]] <!-- END DEEP TIME CONTINUITY ROUTING -->