Structural Stability in Fusion Confinement Systems

This paper presents a structural analysis of stability in fusion confinement systems, examining how a single geometric alignment constraint propagates through the plasma and organizes the hierarchy of stability and instability behaviors. Rather than treating magnetic, pressure‑driven, transport, and boundary phenomena as isolated mechanisms, the study shows how they emerge as coordinated expressions of the same underlying rule: the requirement that the plasma remain aligned with the confining geometry. The analysis compares primary plasma responses, diagnostic signatures, interpretive frameworks, and system‑level consequences across tokamaks, stellarators, and inertial confinement systems. The result is a unified perspective that clarifies why different fusion approaches encounter similar thresholds, failure modes, and operational limits, offering a coherent structural framework for understanding fusion stability