diff --git a/nova/policies/base.py b/nova/policies/base.py
index b833fcd1a6ef..a8c71f557bef 100644
--- a/nova/policies/base.py
+++ b/nova/policies/base.py
@@ -16,9 +16,52 @@ RULE_ADMIN_OR_OWNER = 'rule:admin_or_owner'
 RULE_ADMIN_API = 'rule:admin_api'
 RULE_ANY = '@'
 
+# TODO(gmann): # Special string ``system_scope:all`` is added for system
+# scoped policies for backwards compatibility where ``nova.conf [oslo_policy]
+# enforce_scope = False``.
+# Otherwise, this might open up APIs to be more permissive unintentionally if a
+# deployment isn't enforcing scope. For example, the 'list all servers'
+# policy will be System Scoped Reader with ``role:reader`` and
+# scope_type=['system'] Until enforce_scope=True by default, it would
+# be possible for users with the ``reader`` role on a project to access the
+# 'list all servers' API. Once nova defaults ``nova.conf [oslo_policy]
+# enforce_scope=True``, the ``system_scope:all`` bits of these check strings
+# can be removed since that will be handled automatically by scope_types in
+# oslo.policy's RuleDefault objects.
+SYSTEM_ADMIN = 'rule:system_admin_api'
+SYSTEM_READER = 'rule:system_reader_api'
+PROJECT_MEMBER = 'rule:project_member_api'
+PROJECT_READER = 'rule:project_reader_api'
+PROJECT_MEMBER_OR_SYSTEM_ADMIN = 'rule:system_admin_or_owner'
+PROJECT_READER_OR_SYSTEM_READER = 'rule:system_or_project_reader'
+
+# NOTE(gmann): Below is the mapping of new roles and scope_types
+# with legacy roles::
+
+# Legacy Rule        |    New Rules                     |Operation |scope_type|
+# -------------------+----------------------------------+----------+-----------
+#                    |-> SYSTEM_ADMIN                   |Global    | [system]
+# RULE_ADMIN_API     |                                   Write
+#                    |-> SYSTEM_READER                  |Global    | [system]
+#                    |                                  |Read      |
+#
+#                    |-> PROJECT_MEMBER_OR_SYSTEM_ADMIN |Project   | [system,
+# RULE_ADMIN_OR_OWNER|                                  |Write     |  project]
+#                    |-> PROJECT_READER_OR_SYSTEM_READER|Project   | [system,
+#                                                       |Read      |  project]
+
 # NOTE(johngarbutt) The base rules here affect so many APIs the list
 # of related API operations has not been populated. It would be
 # crazy hard to manually maintain such a list.
+
+# NOTE(gmann): Keystone already support implied roles means assignment
+# of one role implies the assignment of another. New defaults roles
+# `reader`, `member` also has been added in bootstrap. If the bootstrap
+# process is re-run, and a `reader`, `member`, or `admin` role already
+# exists, a role implication chain will be created: `admin` implies
+# `member` implies `reader`.
+# For example: If we give access to 'reader' it means the 'admin' and
+# 'member' also get access.
 rules = [
     policy.RuleDefault(
         "context_is_admin",
@@ -31,7 +74,31 @@ rules = [
     policy.RuleDefault(
         "admin_api",
         "is_admin:True",
-        "Default rule for most Admin APIs.")
+        "Default rule for most Admin APIs."),
+    policy.RuleDefault(
+        "system_admin_api",
+        'role:admin and system_scope:all',
+        "Default rule for System Admin APIs."),
+    policy.RuleDefault(
+        "system_reader_api",
+        "role:reader and system_scope:all",
+        "Default rule for System level read only APIs."),
+    policy.RuleDefault(
+        "project_member_api",
+        "role:member and project_id:%(project_id)s",
+        "Default rule for Project level non admin APIs."),
+    policy.RuleDefault(
+        "project_reader_api",
+        "role:reader and project_id:%(project_id)s",
+        "Default rule for Project level read only APIs."),
+    policy.RuleDefault(
+        "system_admin_or_owner",
+        "rule:system_admin_api or rule:project_member_api",
+        "Default rule for System admin+owner APIs."),
+    policy.RuleDefault(
+        "system_or_project_reader",
+        "rule:system_reader_api or rule:project_reader_api",
+        "Default rule for System+Project read only APIs.")
 ]
 
 
diff --git a/nova/tests/unit/test_policy.py b/nova/tests/unit/test_policy.py
index ca5d387ba7ae..b88b10ea46f2 100644
--- a/nova/tests/unit/test_policy.py
+++ b/nova/tests/unit/test_policy.py
@@ -486,7 +486,10 @@ class RealRolePolicyTestCase(test.NoDBTestCase):
         # admin=True or quota_class match, this rule won't belong to
         # admin_only, non_admin, admin_or_user, empty_rule
         special_rules = ('admin_api', 'admin_or_owner', 'context_is_admin',
-                         'os_compute_api:os-quota-class-sets:show')
+                         'os_compute_api:os-quota-class-sets:show',
+                         'system_admin_api', 'system_reader_api',
+                         'project_member_api', 'project_reader_api',
+                         'system_admin_or_owner', 'system_or_project_reader')
         result = set(rules.keys()) - set(self.admin_only_rules +
             self.admin_or_owner_rules +
             self.allow_all_rules + special_rules)