Beyond Structuration

Anthony Giddens’s theory of structuration provides a foundational account of the recursive relationship between social structure and human agency. By conceptualizing structure as both the medium and the outcome of social practices, Giddens challenges the opposition between structural determinism and methodological individualism. Nevertheless, questions concerning the progressive erosion of institutional capacities, the unequal distribution of future agency, and the normative evaluation of structural reproduction require additional conceptual resources. This article examines the extent to which Morteza Niami’s ontology of finite continuance extends the explanatory and normative possibilities of structuration theory. It develops seven points of comparison: the transition from the duality of structure to reconfigurative capacity; from structural reproduction to structural erosion; from knowledgeable agency to erosive governance; from individual agency to capacity debt; from abstract structural relations to the organizational mechanisms of elite coordination; from theoretical interpretation to falsifiable institutional analysis; and from structural description to normative thresholds of legitimacy. The article argues that finite continuance offers a potentially significant extension of structuration theory by evaluating institutions according to their capacity to preserve the conditions of future reconfiguration. Its distinctive contribution lies in connecting ontological persistence, institutional adaptability, distributive justice, and political accountability within a common analytical framework. The argumentestablishes a basis for comparative theoretical assessment while recognizing that its stronger claims require further empirical operationalization and engagement with existing theories of institutional resilience, domination, and political legitimacy. Keywords: Anthony Giddens, Morteza Niami, structuration theory, finite continuance, reconfigurative capacity, structural erosion, capacity debt, erosive governance, institutional legitimacy, future agency