diff --git a/declarative_authorization.gemspec b/declarative_authorization.gemspec
index 0f98ba1..c3141f5 100644
--- a/declarative_authorization.gemspec
+++ b/declarative_authorization.gemspec
@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ Gem::Specification.new do |spec|
   spec.required_ruby_version = Gem::Requirement.new('< 4.1')
   spec.metadata['allowed_push_host'] = 'https://rubygems.org'
 
+  spec.add_dependency('actionpack', ['>= 7.2', '< 8.2'])
+  spec.add_dependency('activerecord', ['>= 7.2', '< 8.2'])
+  spec.add_dependency('activesupport', ['>= 7.2', '< 8.2'])
   spec.add_dependency('blockenspiel', ['>= 0.5', '< 1'])
-  spec.add_dependency('rails', ['>= 7.2', '< 8.2'])
+  spec.add_dependency('railties', ['>= 7.2', '< 8.2'])
 end
diff --git a/lib/declarative_authorization/authorization.rb b/lib/declarative_authorization/authorization.rb
index 0bb93f8..0789586 100644
--- a/lib/declarative_authorization/authorization.rb
+++ b/lib/declarative_authorization/authorization.rb
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/reader.rb'
 require "set"
 require "forwardable"
-require 'rails'
+require 'active_support'
 require 'uri'
 
 module Authorization
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def self.configure
     yield config
   end
 
-  AUTH_DSL_FILES = [Pathname.new(Rails.root || '').join("config", "authorization_rules.rb").to_s] unless defined? AUTH_DSL_FILES
+  AUTH_DSL_FILES = [Pathname.new(defined?(::Rails) && ::Rails.respond_to?(:root) && ::Rails.root || '').join("config", "authorization_rules.rb").to_s] unless defined? AUTH_DSL_FILES
 
   # Controller-independent method for retrieving the current user.
   # Needed for model security where the current controller is not available.
diff --git a/lib/declarative_authorization/railsengine.rb b/lib/declarative_authorization/railsengine.rb
index 75a07a4..f450453 100644
--- a/lib/declarative_authorization/railsengine.rb
+++ b/lib/declarative_authorization/railsengine.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-require 'rails'
+require 'rails/engine'
 
 module Authorization
   class RailsEngine < Rails::Engine