How polity agreements work for everyday people (plus technical tools)
Most visitors are not software developers, so we start with ideas, not code. This page explains:
If you want a purely non-technical walkthrough first, open Polity: How It Works to see the visual narrative before returning to this page.
Download a protocol template, adapt it for your community, and publish it as machine-readable charter text. The protocol can then be signed and shared across the Fedinet.
{
"polity_id": "polity:river-phyle",
"name": "River Phyle Network",
"description": "Federation of river basin communities, worker coops and municipal partners.",
"version": "1.0.0",
"effective_date": "2026-03-23",
"principles": ["ecological stewardship", "mutual aid", "self-determination", "non-authoritarian federation"],
"member_groups": [
{ "name": "Water Commons", "type": "intentional_community", "slug": "water-commons" },
{ "name": "State Reform Network", "type": "jurisdictional_partner", "slug": "green-state" }
],
"federation_rules": {
"exit_notice_days": 90,
"dispute_path": "restorative-council",
"shared_resources": ["food"],
"cyber_security": "self-sovereign-key-ops"
}
}
Download JSON
Template can be downloaded and adapted as polity-protocol-template.json. Use the button above to switch to a friendly, non-technical text summary.
Generate keys, sign the protocol text, and verify signatures locally in your browser.
No key generated yet.
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The code below uses Web Crypto API (available in modern browsers and Neocities if HTTPS). This lets you verify without any backend key storage.
Yes, signature belongs to cryptography. A polity signing model should rely on public key identities and signed charter declarations.
Each group publishes a public key (or DID). To sign:
Verification is simply: hash the text again and verify the signature with signer’s public key. Provide tools transparently so everyone can independently audit.
Tip: In Fedinet, the document and signature are shared over a federated network, much like you follow another Mastodon account. This allows groups to discover and validate each other in a decentralized trust web.
Fedinet is short for "federated internet" and it is the infrastructure that lets independent polity nodes share statements and policy agreements without requiring a single central authority. Each polity publishes its own rules and chooses who to trust, while still being able to check and verify other members.
This works like email: you can send a signed message from your server, and recipients can verify the signature. In this same way, polity groups exchange signed charters and acceptance/withdrawal notices.
/**
* Simplified JavaScript pseudo-code using libsodium or TweetNaCl
*/
const sodium = require('libsodium-wrappers');
(async () => {
await sodium.ready;
const keypair = sodium.crypto_sign_keypair();
const protocol = JSON.stringify({ polity_id:'polity:river-phyle', version:'1.0.0' });
const message = sodium.from_string(protocol);
const signed = sodium.crypto_sign(message, keypair.privateKey);
const signature = signed.slice(0, sodium.crypto_sign_BYTES);
console.log('publicKey', sodium.to_base64(keypair.publicKey));
console.log('signature', sodium.to_base64(signature));
})();
In Fedinet app this becomes a UI step: import key, choose charter, sign, publish to federation endpoint (ActivityPub `Announce` or building a direct peer-to-peer exchange). The data is then distributed so anyone can verify the chain of pacts.