Digital Sovereignty Through Explicit Authorization

Abstract

This paper frames digital sovereignty as a technical property of systems that enforce explicit, bounded, and revocable authorization.

It argues that individual control cannot be preserved by institutional promises alone. Control must be represented as verifiable authorization, constrained by scope and time, and dominated by revocation. The paper describes explicit authorization as a cryptographic design discipline for open systems where participation does not require surrendering authority to platforms, custodians, or intermediaries.