Six-Axis Political Compass

The standard left–right spectrum collapses six distinct political dimensions into one. This tool maps your position across all of them.

The Six Axes

Axis	Low (0)	High (10)
Cultural	Cultural internationalism	Cultural nationalism
Economic	Economic internationalism	Economic nationalism
Military	Non-interventionist	Interventionist
Sovereignty	Supranational	National sovereignty
Governance	Maximal autonomy / consent-based / democratic	Maximal hierarchy / authority / coercive
Class	Class harmony	Class conflict

Usage

Open dist/index.html in any modern browser. The deployed site has no runtime dependencies — CSS and JavaScript are inlined into each HTML file.

How it works

You are presented with 24 statements (4 per axis).
For each statement, select how much you agree or disagree on a 5-point Likert scale.
Your answers are scored:
- Forward-scored questions add the response value (0–4) directly.
- Reverse-scored questions subtract the value from 4.
- Each axis raw total (0–16) is normalised to a 0–10 scale.
Your profile is plotted on a hexagonal radar chart.
Optionally compare your profile against pre-loaded political parties or upload a saved map.

Forkable, Traceable Actor Data

Every political actor in the compass is defined by a standalone JSON file in data/actors/. Each file contains:

Metadata — name, slug, category, colour, active period, curator, version, last-updated date
Scores — a 0–10 value on each of the six axes
Traceability — per-axis confidence level, rationale, and a list of cited sources
Dual-register (optional) — declared scores (what actors say) vs structural scores (what actors do), plus delta and per-register confidence

Sources can be manifestos, legislation, parliamentary votes, speeches, academic papers, or policy documents. Each source includes a title, date, URL, quoted relevant text, and a full citation.

The dual-register layer is maintained in data/research/ as part of the A Common Enemy research programme. Files there follow the Dual-Register Sourcing Protocol and can be migrated into individual actor JSONs via scripts/migrate-dual-register.js.

Contributing New Actors or Improved Scores

Researchers are invited to fork this repository and submit pull requests with new actor data or better-sourced scores. The data schema is defined in data/schema.json and every file is validated against it. See Contributing below.

Browsing Evidence in the App

In the results screen, every pre-loaded actor has an information icon ("i") next to its toggle button. Clicking it opens a detail panel showing:

Actor metadata (curator, version, last updated)
Per-axis score with confidence badge
Rationale text
Full source citations with clickable links to Hansard, legislation.gov.uk, and other primary sources

This makes the compass a living research instrument: users can inspect the evidence behind every score rather than taking it on trust.

Public Actor Dataset Page

For a sortable, searchable table of all actor scores with per-axis confidence, rationale, and source links, see the dedicated data page:

Browse the full dataset →

The page lists every actor, their six-axis scores, confidence levels, and expandable detail panels showing curators, version history, rationales, and primary source links. You can sort by any axis or search by actor name, category, or source title.

API

REST API (Server-side)

A small HTTP API generates radar charts programmatically (papers, CI, A Common Enemy figure pipelines). The static GitHub Pages app does not host this API — run it locally or deploy api/server.js behind HTTPS.

npm run api

Copy .env.example to .env.local if you need non-default ports or legacy auth. The server listens on API_PORT (default 3000).

API v2.0.0 (public read, Phase 1): When API_PUBLIC_READ=true (default), these routes need no Authorization header:

Endpoint	Auth (default)	Description
`GET /api/health`	No	Health check (`apiVersion`, `publicRead`, app `version`)
`GET /api/actors`	Public	List actors + `meta.axesOrder`
`GET /api/actors/:slug`	Public	Full actor record (ETag / 304)
`POST /api/chart`	Public	SVG or PNG chart (rate-limited: 60/min/IP)
`GET /api/axes`	Public	Canonical axis order and pole labels
`GET /api/openapi.json`	Public	OpenAPI 3.1 document

Set API_PUBLIC_READ=false to require Authorization: Bearer $API_SECRET on read routes (legacy v1.x). Private write (ADMIN_SECRET, POST /api/admin/*) is Phase 2 — see docs/feature-request-public-private-api-v0.1.0.md.

Variable	Default	Role
`API_PUBLIC_READ`	`true`	Public read without Bearer
`API_SECRET`	(unset)	Legacy read Bearer when public read is off
`API_CHART_RATE_LIMIT`	`60`	Chart requests per IP per minute

Example — public chart (no secret):

curl -sS -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/chart \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"scores":{"Cultural":5,"Economic":3,"Military":7,"Sovereignty":5,"Governance":6,"Class":3},"actors":["Green Party"],"format":"png"}' \
  -o comparison.png

Paper-style actor-only PNG: docs/examples/api/chart-public-read.sh.

Full trust zones, limits, CORS, errors, and cURL recipes: API.md.

Default radar layout (v2.7.0+, OQ5 spatial): Economic → Governance → Class → Cultural → Sovereignty → Military (layout: spatial, orientation: spatial, hash x=egacsm). Pedagogical order (OQ2): Cultural → Economic → Military → Sovereignty → Governance → Class (layout: pedagogical, x=cemslg). See API.md § Radar layouts.

CI/CD Dispatch API (GitHub Actions)

External repositories (such as common-enemy) can trigger selective generation and OSF upload via repository_dispatch events.

Event type	What it does
`paper-revised`	Regenerate all artifacts and upload the full set.
`generate-radar`	Generate artifacts for specific actors only, optionally upload to OSF.
`upload-asset`	Upload a single pre-built file to a specific OSF component.

All dispatch events require a shared DISPATCH_TOKEN secret for authentication. See API.md for full payload schemas and triggering examples from another repository.

Shareable Web URL (Client-side)

The live UI supports generating maps directly via a parameterised hash URL—no API key or server required. Everything is rendered client-side.

https://earlution.github.io/6-axis-compass/#v2;c=5.0,e=5.0,m=5.0,s=5.0,l=5.0,a=5.0;o=flat;x=cemslg

Segment	Meaning	Example
`v2`	URL format version (`v1` legacy, `v2` current)	`v2`
`c=5.0,e=5.0,...`	Axis scores (0–10). Keys: `c`=Cultural, `e`=Economic, `m`=Military, `s`=Sovereignty, `l`=Governance, `a`=Class	`c=7.0,e=3.0,m=8.0,s=6.0,l=5.0,a=1.0`
`o=flat`	Chart orientation: `flat` or `pointy`	`o=pointy`
`x=cemslg`	Axis display order (clockwise; default OQ2 order)	`x=cemslg`
`i=` (optional)	Inverted axes (swapped poles)	`i=la`

Example — Centrist profile:

https://earlution.github.io/6-axis-compass/#v2;c=5.0,e=5.0,m=5.0,s=5.0,l=5.0,a=5.0;o=pointy;x=cemslg

Visiting a valid hash URL skips the quiz and renders the results screen immediately. The URL auto-updates when orientation or axis order changes, so copying the address bar always captures the current view. v1 URLs are backwards-compatible.

Merch shop prototype (`merch-shop` branch)

Custom apparel flow (Printful-ready UI, checkout stubbed): results → garment mockup carousel → shop.html configurator → stub checkout modal.

Output	Description
`dist/shop.html`	Shop configurator (same styles as main app)
`dist/assets/merch/`	Placeholder garment mockup SVGs

Demo locally: npm run build then serve dist/ (see docs/merch-prototype.md).

v3 hash on shop URLs carries scores, comparisons (actor slugs), garment, colour, and chart ink theme.
sessionStorage draft preserves custom actors and uploaded maps.
Future Printful/Stripe wiring: docs/merch-printful-integration.md.

Tagged releases for this prototype use merch-prototype-v* (see git tags).

Paper Artifacts

For academic publication, npm run generate-artifacts produces static, versioned files in paper-artifacts/:

Format	Purpose
`.json`	Raw scores + full provenance (version, git commit, generation timestamp, traceability)
`.svg`	Print-ready vector radar chart (600×600, white background, self-contained)
`.tex`	LaTeX `\newcommand` definitions for each axis score

Comparison charts (multi-actor overlays) are also generated based on scripts/paper-config.json. See paper-artifacts/README.md for LaTeX integration instructions.

Development

Branches

Branch	Role
`main`	Production — what GitHub Pages deploys. Merge here only when a release is tested and ready.
`dev`	Active development — branch feature work here; open PRs into `dev`, then promote `dev` → `main` for release.

git checkout dev
git pull origin dev
git checkout -b feat/my-feature   # optional topic branch off dev

The source is organised as ES modules under src/:

File	Purpose
`src/data.js`	Axes, questions, response scales, and actor scores (with fallback)
`src/i18n.js`	Translation dictionary and `t()` helper
`src/url.js`	Shareable URL encoding/decoding
`src/quiz.js`	Quiz state management and scoring engine
`src/chart.js`	SVG radar chart renderer
`src/ui.js`	Intro, quiz, and results screen rendering (including actor modal)
`src/export.js`	PNG, JSON, and XML export; JSON/XML import
`src/merch-url.js`	Merch v3 URL hash and sessionStorage draft
`src/merch-catalog.js`	Garment catalogue and placeholder prices
`src/merch.js`	Merch mockup carousel and stub checkout modal
`src/shop-ui.js`	Shop page renderer
`src/shop.html`	Merch shop shell
`src/input.css`	Tailwind source stylesheet (edit this, not `styles.css`)
`src/styles.css`	Generated CSS from Tailwind (committed for CI without Node)
`src/chrome.js`	Shared site header, footer, and theme toggle
`src/index.html`	Shell that imports and wires the modules

Actor data is loaded at build time from data/actors/*.json into src/actors-generated.js, which is then inlined into the deployable artifact. This preserves the zero-runtime-dependency constraint while making the data traceable and forkable.

Build

npm install
npm run build

This runs scripts/sync-actor-data.js (regenerates src/actors-generated.js from data/actors/), compiles src/input.css → src/styles.css via Tailwind CSS, then scripts/build.js inlines modules and CSS into dist/index.html, dist/shop.html, and dist/data.html, and copies src/assets/merch/ to dist/assets/merch/.

To edit styles, change src/input.css and run npm run build:css (or full npm run build).

Watch mode

npm run dev

Rebuilds on every source file change. For CSS-only iteration, run npm run build:css:watch in a second terminal.

Paper artifacts

npm run generate-artifacts

Requires jsdom (installed via npm install).

Contributing

Adding or updating an actor

Create or edit a file in data/actors/{slug}.json matching the schema in data/schema.json.
Include at least one source per axis with a URL and citation.
Run npm run build to regenerate src/actors-generated.js and dist/index.html.
Run npm run generate-artifacts to update the paper artifacts.
Commit both the data file and the regenerated artifacts.

Data schema

{
  "schemaVersion": "1.1.0",
  "actor": {
    "name": "...",
    "slug": "...",
    "category": "...",
    "color": "#RRGGBB",
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "lastUpdated": "YYYY-MM-DD",
    "curator": "...",
    "contributors": ["..."]
  },
  "scores": {
    "Cultural": {
      "value": 5,
      "confidence": "high",
      "rationale": "...",
      "sources": [
        {
          "type": "manifesto",
          "title": "...",
          "date": "YYYY-MM-DD",
          "url": "https://...",
          "relevantText": "Quoted excerpt...",
          "citation": "Full citation..."
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "dualRegister": {
    "protocol": "Dual-Register Sourcing Protocol v0.2.0",
    "period": "2010–2024",
    "status": "governing",
    "evidenceQuality": "strong",
    "declared": { "Cultural": 10, "Economic": 0, "Military": 8.1, "Sovereignty": 8.8, "Governance": 8.8, "Class": 2.5 },
    "structural": { "Cultural": 9.4, "Economic": 0, "Military": 10, "Sovereignty": 8.1, "Governance": 8.8, "Class": 2.5 },
    "delta": { "Cultural": -0.6, "Economic": 0, "Military": 1.9, "Sovereignty": -0.7, "Governance": 0, "Class": 0 },
    "confidence": {
      "Cultural": { "declared": 0.95, "structural": 0.90, "note": "14-year governing record" }
    },
    "sources": {
      "declared": [{ "type": "manifesto", "title": "...", "url": "...", "citation": "..." }],
      "structural": [{ "type": "legislation", "title": "...", "url": "...", "citation": "..." }]
    }
  }
}

Confidence levels: low, medium, high, very-high. Source types: manifesto, legislation, vote, policy, speech, book, academic, other.

Documentation and Google Drive

docs/ is git-tracked and canonical — always commit this directory.

docs-gd-6-axis-compass/ symlinks to Google Drive 6-Axis Compass (gitignored). It is infrastructure for keeping the repo and Claude Desktop in sync; you normally do not edit it directly.

bash scripts/link-docs-gd-6-axis-compass.sh     # once per machine
bash scripts/sync-docs-from-drive.sh       # Drive → docs/ (before commit)
bash scripts/sync-docs-to-drive.sh         # docs/ → Drive (after repo edits)
git add docs/ && git commit

Drive-only paths (not synced into git): handoff/, _meta/, archive/ under the Drive folder.

common-enemy: separate Drive A Common Enemy; outbound handoff at docs-gd-6-axis-compass/handoff/for-common-enemy/.

License

MIT License — see LICENSE.

Acknowledgements

Originally developed as part of A Common Enemy.

Navigation Menu

Repository files navigation

Six-Axis Political Compass

The Six Axes

Usage

How it works

Forkable, Traceable Actor Data

Contributing New Actors or Improved Scores

Browsing Evidence in the App

Public Actor Dataset Page

API

REST API (Server-side)

CI/CD Dispatch API (GitHub Actions)

Shareable Web URL (Client-side)

Merch shop prototype (`merch-shop` branch)

Paper Artifacts

Development

Branches

Build

Watch mode

Paper artifacts

Contributing

Adding or updating an actor

Data schema

Documentation and Google Drive

License

Acknowledgements

About

Releases

Packages

Used by

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Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
api		api
data		data
dist		dist
docs		docs
paper-artifacts		paper-artifacts
scripts		scripts
src		src
tests		tests
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
API.md		API.md
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
RESEARCH-MANIFEST.md		RESEARCH-MANIFEST.md
package-lock.json		package-lock.json
package.json		package.json
postcss.config.js		postcss.config.js
tailwind.config.js		tailwind.config.js

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Six-Axis Political Compass

The Six Axes

Usage

How it works

Forkable, Traceable Actor Data

Contributing New Actors or Improved Scores

Browsing Evidence in the App

Public Actor Dataset Page

API

REST API (Server-side)

CI/CD Dispatch API (GitHub Actions)

Shareable Web URL (Client-side)

Merch shop prototype (merch-shop branch)

Paper Artifacts

Development

Branches

Build

Watch mode

Paper artifacts

Contributing

Adding or updating an actor

Data schema

Documentation and Google Drive

License

Acknowledgements

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Merch shop prototype (`merch-shop` branch)