diff --git a/architecture_linter.py b/architecture_linter.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e971cf0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/architecture_linter.py
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""
+Architecture Linter — Sovereignty Enforcement
+Scans the codebase for banned providers, models, and API keys.
+"""
+
+import os
+import sys
+import re
+
+BANNED_STRINGS = [
+    r'anthropic',
+    r'claude',
+    r'api\.anthropic\.com',
+    r'ANTHROPIC_API_KEY',
+    r'claude-opus',
+    r'claude-sonnet',
+    r'claude-haiku'
+]
+
+EXCEPTIONS = [
+    'BANNED_PROVIDERS.md',
+    'architecture_linter.py',
+    'training/',
+    'evaluations/',
+    'RELEASE_',
+    'metrics_helpers.py'
+]
+
+def is_exception(path):
+    for exc in EXCEPTIONS:
+        if exc in path:
+            return True
+    return False
+
+def check_file(path):
+    violations = []
+    try:
+        with open(path, 'r', encoding='utf-8', errors='ignore') as f:
+            for i, line in enumerate(f, 1):
+                for pattern in BANNED_STRINGS:
+                    if re.search(pattern, line, re.IGNORECASE):
+                        violations.append((i, line.strip(), pattern))
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Error reading {path}: {e}")
+    return violations
+
+def main():
+    print("--- Sovereignty Enforcement: Architecture Linter ---")
+    total_violations = 0
+    
+    for root, dirs, files in os.walk('.'):
+        # Skip .git
+        if '.git' in dirs:
+            dirs.remove('.git')
+            
+        for file in files:
+            path = os.path.join(root, file)
+            if is_exception(path):
+                continue
+                
+            violations = check_file(path)
+            if violations:
+                print(f"\n[VIOLATION] {path}:")
+                for line_num, content, pattern in violations:
+                    print(f"  Line {line_num}: Found '{pattern}' -> {content}")
+                    total_violations += 1
+
+    if total_violations > 0:
+        print(f"\nFAILED: Found {total_violations} sovereignty violations.")
+        sys.exit(1)
+    else:
+        print("\nPASSED: No banned providers detected.")
+        sys.exit(0)
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()