metadata (Normative)

Title:	Governance Axes as a Multi-Dimensional Diagnostic Lens
Author:	Ralph B. Holland
Affiliation:	Arising Technology Systems Pty Ltd
Publication Date:	2026-02-15T00:00Z
Version:	1.0.0
Binding:	normative

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This document contains both normative and descriptive material.

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impose conformance requirements,
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This Scope section itself is normative.

Governance Axes as a Multi-Dimensional Diagnostic Lens

Abstract

The Governance Axes are a set of independent dimensions describing how authority, agency, knowledge, constraint, continuity, and related governance properties are structured and preserved over time. Each axis represents a distinct governance dimension along which conditions may vary in intensity, accumulate pressure, or interact with other dimensions.

The axes were originally identified through repeated observation of governance breakdowns across AI-mediated, institutional, and organisational contexts. However, they are not confined to failure analysis. Rather, they define a continuous governance space admitting stable, strained, and destabilising states.

This paper formalises the axes as a multi-dimensional diagnostic lens. It clarifies their dimensional character, establishes normative constraints governing their projection and interpretation, and integrates refinements including a rearticulation of Social Coordination (Sc) and the introduction of Epistemic Mediation (M). The framework provides structural clarity without prescribing metrics, causal models, or remediation hierarchies. It is intended as a portable analytic vocabulary for cross-domain governance reasoning.

Supersession Note

Earlier publications described the Governance Axes as “Failure Axes” due to their empirical derivation from breakdown conditions. This paper generalises the Axes as continuous governance dimensions. Prior references to “failure” should be understood as describing edge states within these dimensions rather than the axes themselves.

1. Introduction

The Governance Axes describe independent dimensions along which authority, agency, knowledge, constraint, continuity, and related governance properties are structured and preserved over time. Each axis represents a distinct governance dimension within a continuous interpretive space. Conditions along these dimensions may remain stable, accumulate pressure, interact with other dimensions, or reach destabilising thresholds.

Treating the axes as dimensions enables governance conditions to be examined as configurations rather than as binary outcomes. The axes function as a multi-dimensional diagnostic lens through which systems, institutions, and organisational arrangements may be assessed for structural coherence, pressure accumulation, and cross-axis interaction. Governance is thus understood as a structured configuration within a continuous space rather than as a transition between extreme states such as success or failure.

This paper formalises the dimensional character of the axes and establishes interpretive constraints governing their projection and application across domains. The framework is schema-agnostic and does not prescribe metrics, scoring systems, or causal hierarchies. It provides structural vocabulary without mandating measurement regimes.

Two refinements are integrated in this formalisation. First, the Social Coordination (Sc) axis is clarified to emphasise habituation, normalisation of reliance, and the relocation of deliberation within institutional or systemic structures. Second, a new axis — Epistemic Mediation (M) — is introduced to describe the degree to which systems actively structure, validate, or constrain epistemic inputs prior to advancing inference or action.

2. Identified Governance Axes

2.1 Normative Definition of Governance

Governance is the structural arrangement by which authority, agency, knowledge, action, and repair are legitimately exercised over time. Governance is distinct from management, optimisation, or intelligence. A system may perform effectively while being poorly governed, and conversely may be well governed while performing suboptimally. Governance concerns who is authorised to decide, what constrains action, how knowledge is held and transferred, and how repair occurs without loss of legitimacy.

This definition applies equally to technical systems, organisations, and institutions.

2.2 Structural Properties of the Governance Axes

The Governance Axes are independent dimensions of governance structure. Each axis describes a continuous structural condition reflecting the preservation, strain, or erosion of the governance property it names.

Axis state is descriptive and admits graded variation. A system may exhibit stability, mild strain, sustained pressure, or progressive erosion along any given axis.

Governance pressure refers to the accumulation, persistence, or interaction of strain along one or more axes over time. Pressure may increase, stabilise, dissipate, or amplify through cross-axis interaction without necessarily constituting a breach of declared governance rules.

Conformance is distinct from axis state and governance pressure. Conformance concerns whether a defined normative boundary has been crossed. A conformance breach occurs when axis state exceeds a declared threshold specified by governance rules, policy, or binding constraints.

Thus:

Axis state describes structural condition.
Governance pressure describes dynamic evolution of strain.
Conformance describes threshold crossing within a dimension.

An axis may exhibit sustained pressure without breach. A breach represents a discrete evaluative event within a continuous structural dimension.

2.3 Illustrative Example (Authority Axis)

Consider a document approval workflow.

Stable State: Decision rights are clearly assigned. Only designated approvers may issue binding approvals. Authority boundaries are explicit and transparent.

Increasing Pressure: An automated system begins generating approval recommendations. Human approvers routinely accept these without substantive review. Formal authority remains unchanged, but practical decision control begins to drift. Pressure is increasing on the Authority axis, though no conformance boundary has yet been crossed.

Conformance Breach: The automated system issues binding approvals without explicit delegation. A declared governance threshold has been crossed. This constitutes a conformance breach within the Authority dimension.

This example demonstrates the distinction between axis state (structural condition), governance pressure (dynamic strain), and conformance (normative threshold crossing).

2.4 The Axes and Their Verbatim Headings

A - Authority: Authority concerns the legitimacy of decision rights within a system: who is authorised to determine meaning, make binding changes, or exercise interpretive control. Authority remains stable when decision rights are clearly defined, transparently exercised, and not implicitly transferred. Strain arises when authority boundaries become ambiguous, informally displaced, or habitually deferred. Destabilisation occurs when binding decisions are exercised by entities lacking explicit authorisation.

Ag - Agency: Agency concerns the locus of action within a system: who performs execution, enactment, or operational change. Agency remains stable when actors are clearly identifiable and act within delegated scope. Strain arises when execution becomes obscured, automated without clarity, or misattributed. Destabilisation occurs when actions are performed by entities without delegated power or when actor identity is materially obscured.

C - Epistemic Custody: Epistemic Custody concerns the stewardship and control of knowledge artefacts. Custody remains stable when artefacts remain under declared stewardship with preserved provenance. Strain arises when artefacts are replicated, transformed, or distributed without clear custodial guarantees. Destabilisation occurs when artefacts leave declared custody or are altered without preserved authority and provenance.

K - Constraint Enforcement: Constraint Enforcement concerns the preservation of declared rules, invariants, and prohibitions in execution. Enforcement remains stable when constraints are consistently applied. Strain arises when constraints are softened, reordered, or inconsistently applied. Destabilisation occurs when binding constraints are bypassed in operational contexts.

R - Recovery / Repair: Recovery concerns the system’s capacity to return to a valid governed state following disruption. Recovery remains stable when repair mechanisms restore authority, state, and legitimacy. Strain arises when repair is partial, opaque, or dependent on informal intervention. Destabilisation occurs when restoration cannot occur without loss of authority, meaning, or trust.

S - State Continuity: State Continuity concerns preservation of authoritative state across time, sessions, and interactions. Continuity remains stable when prior decisions, artefacts, and constraints persist correctly. Strain arises when state becomes intermittently unavailable or inconsistently reintroduced. Destabilisation occurs when authoritative state is lost or materially corrupted.

U - UI / Mediation: UI / Mediation concerns how interfaces shape or distort interaction between humans and systems. Mediation remains stable when interfaces accurately represent system state and constraints. Strain arises when interfaces obscure limits or incentivise shortcuts. Destabilisation occurs when interface design materially induces integrity-violating behaviour.

Sc - Social Coordination: Social Coordination concerns the degree to which an institutional or systemic structure becomes a routine locus of deliberation through habituation and normalised reliance. Coordination remains stable when engagement is bounded and reflective. Strain arises when consultation becomes habitual and deliberation progressively relocates into the system. Destabilisation occurs when implicit migration of judgment or legitimacy occurs without explicit delegation or governance framing.

I - Incentive Alignment: Incentive Alignment concerns the coherence between declared governance objectives and optimisation pressures. Alignment remains stable when system incentives reinforce declared goals. Strain arises when competing incentives (e.g., speed, engagement, profit) exert pressure on governance properties. Destabilisation occurs when optimisation pressures override declared governance commitments.

L - Legibility / Inspectability: Legibility concerns the observability and interpretability of system behaviour. Legibility remains stable when decisions and transformations are inspectable and comprehensible. Strain arises when processes become opaque or partially obscured. Destabilisation occurs when material decisions or substitutions occur without detectability.

St - Stewardship: Stewardship concerns responsibility for preservation and care independent of ownership. Stewardship remains stable when custodial duties are exercised with restraint and continuity. Strain arises when care obligations weaken or become ambiguous. Destabilisation occurs when actors treat ownership as conferring unrestricted authority or neglect preservation obligations.

P - Portability / Auditability: Portability concerns the capacity of artefacts to move across systems while retaining verifiability and provenance. Portability remains stable when artefacts are transferable and independently auditable. Strain arises when artefacts become platform-bound or partially unverifiable. Destabilisation occurs when artefacts cannot be reconstructed or verified outside a specific environment.

Att - Attention: Attention concerns what participates in inference and decision processes. Attention remains stable when relevant artefacts and constraints are included. Strain arises when salience mechanisms deprioritise critical inputs. Destabilisation occurs when authoritative artefacts are excluded from inference.

Scope - Epistemic Object Domain: Scope concerns the defined domain within which reasoning and action are authorised. Scope remains stable when reasoning is confined to declared domains. Strain arises when domain boundaries blur. Destabilisation occurs when reasoning or action extends beyond authorised scope without explicit expansion.

T - Temporal Coherence: Temporal Coherence concerns preservation of correct sequencing and version relationships. Coherence remains stable when temporal ordering and version semantics are preserved. Strain arises when sequencing becomes ambiguous. Destabilisation occurs when rules are applied retroactively or version relationships are corrupted.

Int - Intent Fidelity: Intent Fidelity concerns preservation of declared human intent. Fidelity remains stable when execution aligns with explicitly stated goals. Strain arises when inferred or optimised interpretations begin to substitute for declared intent. Destabilisation occurs when declared intent is overridden by system-generated objectives.

Nf - Normative Fixity: Normative Fixity concerns the stability of binding governance rules. Fixity remains stable when rules are altered only through explicit authorised revision. Strain arises when paraphrasing or reinterpretation weakens rule clarity. Destabilisation occurs when binding norms are altered without authorised supersession.

M - Epistemic Mediation: Epistemic Mediation concerns the degree to which a system structures, validates, clarifies, or constrains epistemic inputs prior to advancing inference or action. Mediation remains stable when structuring preserves declared authority and scope. Strain arises when intervention subtly reshapes meaning or priority. Destabilisation occurs when mediation alters epistemic inputs in ways that materially distort declared governance conditions.

2.5 Normative Ordering of the Axes

The axes are applied in a fixed normative order reflecting structural dependency and order of discovery rather than importance, severity, or priority.

The ordering exists to preserve analytic stability across projections and to prevent retrospective reordering based on outcome, domain, or narrative emphasis.

The ordering does not imply causal sequence, normative hierarchy, or evaluative weighting.

2.6 Non-Substitutability and Independence

Each axis represents an independent governance dimension.

Pressure or stabilisation on one axis does not compensate for erosion on another. Structural transparency does not restore displaced authority; recoverability does not legitimise unauthorised action; incentive alignment does not repair loss of custody.

Independence applies to state, pressure, and conformance. A breach on one axis neither implies nor negates breach on another. Cross-axis interaction may be analysed, but attribution remains dimension-specific.

2.7 Scope and Generality

The Governance Axes describe abstract structural properties that are domain-agnostic. Their generality arises from abstraction without loss of structural specificity.

The axes do not depend on technological substrate, institutional form, or sector. They apply wherever authority, agency, knowledge, constraint, continuity, and stewardship are structured over time.

Generality does not imply universality of interpretation. Application requires domain-specific evidence, but axis definitions remain invariant.

2.8 Normative Projection and Interpretation Constraints

This paper adopts the following normative constraints governing projection, interpretation, and reuse of the Governance Axes and associated projection artefacts.

Analysis

Each row in a projection table represents a discrete governance action or reaction. Rows are not grouped, ordered, or interpreted by domain. Domain attribution is derived solely from the cited source material associated with each row, not from row position, adjacency, or table structure.

Domain representation

The Axes lens has been applied to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) domain of the corpus and to external: democratic, institutional, and organisational domains. All domains are treated as analytically equivalent: no domain is privileged, discounted, or treated as normative ground truth for axis measures.

Axis invariance

Axis definitions, ordering, and meanings are fixed and invariant across domains. Axes are not specialised, extended, suppressed, or reinterpreted on a per-domain basis. Cross-domain applicability is assessed solely through projection outcomes, not through modification of the axis set.

Evidentiary discipline

Axis attribution requires explicit semantic support in the cited source material.

Attribution must be grounded in observable structural condition, governance pressure, or conformance boundary crossing.

Axes must not be assigned by analogy, inferred intent, outcome severity, assumed best practice, or retrospective narrative coherence.

Absence of evidentiary support requires absence of attribution.

Non-aggregation of justification

No axis measure attribution compensates for, substitutes for, or implies attribution on another axis. Each axis measure attribution stands independently and must be supported independently. Patterns may be observed only after projection; they must not be imposed during projection.

Interpretive limits

Projection tables are diagnostic instruments, not causal models. They identify structural governance conditions but do not, by themselves, establish causality, intent, responsibility, or remediation priority.

These constraints are normative. Any analysis that relaxes them, alters axis definitions, re-buckets rows by domain, introduces inferred attributions, or backfills axis attribution based on outcome constitutes a different method and must not be presented as an application of the framework used in this paper.

2.9 Origin and Discovery of the Axes

The Governance Axes were not formulated as candidate dimensions, nor derived through abstraction, reduction, or comparative selection. They emerged through repeated observation of independently recurring governance pressures across concrete cases.

In analysis, certain structural distortions of authority, agency, custody, constraint, continuity, normativity, and related properties appeared persistently and separably across domains. These pressures did not collapse into one another and did not resolve through reclassification. Each recurring pressure was therefore named as an axis.

Orthogonality is not asserted as a design principle but observed as a structural property of the analytic field. The axes are orthogonal insofar as the governance pressures they name recur independently and resist reduction into one another.

The taxonomy reflects this observed separability; it does not impose it.

The framework does not claim completeness. The appearance of a governance pressure that cannot be expressed within the existing axis set constitutes grounds for extension rather than falsification.

Extension requires demonstration that the observed pressure cannot be reduced to existing dimensions without loss of structural clarity.

The orthogonality claim is empirical and provisional; it is sustained unless demonstrably violated by reducible or overlapping governance pressures.