The Polycentric Republic: A Theory of Civil Order for Free and Diverse Societies

The Polycentric Republic presents a compelling and innovative critique of modern social contract theory. It reveals how the social contract theory systematically neglects the interests and prerogatives of non-state associations.

David Thunder is a Research Fellow in political philosophy at the University of Navarra’s Institute for Culture and Society in Pamplona, Spain. He has held several research and teaching positions, including Visiting Assistant Professor in Political Theory at Bucknell University (2006-07) and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Princeton University’s James Madison Program (2008-09). David earned his BA and MA in philosophy at University College Dublin, and his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Notre Dame. His research explores the social and institutional conditions under which human beings can realize meaningful and flourishing lives in highly complex and interconnected social orders. His work has been published in academic journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Political Theory, and the Journal of Business Ethics. He is author of Citizenship and the Pursuit of the Worthy Life (2014), editor of The Ethics of Citizenship in the 21st Century (2017), and co-editor with Pablo Paniagua of Polycentric Governance and the Good Society (2024).