Authorization as a Missing Layer in Digital Systems

Abstract

This paper identifies authorization as a missing architectural layer in digital systems: a layer every digital system assumes, but rarely models explicitly.

The paper argues that many failures in modern systems arise because authorization is hidden inside execution, logging, sequencing, platform policy, or institutional practice rather than represented as a first-class object. It proposes explicit authorization as a primitive for making permission attributable, bounded, revocable, and independently verifiable.