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 and legitimates an imposing sovereign State that jeopardizes the freedom and integrity of communities and associations under its rule. Drawing on neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, institutional theory, and political history, the author invites us to reimagine civil order in a way that is more friendly to the diverse interests and prerogatives of non-State communities and organizations, from churches, schools, and universities to farming co-ops, businesses, villages, and towns. Building on MacIntyre’s diagnosis of the moral and institutional failures of the modern State, this book offers a historically informed and institutionally rigorous critique of the pathologies of sovereign power. In addition, it proposes a novel reinterpretation of federalism as a complex, emergent order created through bottom-up, inter-group cooperation constrained by the rule of law but consistent with a wide variety of independent communities and ways of life. The Polycentric Republic is essential reading for anyone interested in rethinking State-centric approaches to governance and civil order and exploring the merits of non-Statist, pluralist approaches, be they citizens, policymakers, or students of political science, political philosophy, law, or political economy.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction 2. The Freedom to Flourish: The Cornerstone of the Good Society 3. The Social Ecology of Human Flourishing 4. The Sovereign State and Its Homogenizing Narrative of Order 5. How Sovereign, Monocentric States Erode the Social: Infrastructure of Human Flourishing 6. Six Rejoinders on Behalf of the Sovereign State 7. The Polycentric Republic: A Rough Sketch 8. Objections and Replies 9. Conclusion

About the Author :
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 (2006–2007) and Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Princeton University’s James Madison Program (2008–2009). 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 the 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).

Review :
“This very original work pushes back against the centralized state, relocating the political in many diverse communities which together give order to a composite, bottom-up republic. Thunder seeks to rethink civil order in ways that better accommodate the goods of community life, and develops stunningly new ways of thinking about the virtues of a polycentric political system. This work is not easily captured by convenient ideological notions such as ‘left’ and ‘right’. Both sides will be challenged and have much to consider.” Douglas den Uyl, Vice President Emeritus and Benjamin A. Rogge Resident Scholar, Liberty Fund Inc., co-author of Norms of Liberty: A Perfectionist Basis for Non-Perfectionist Politics (2005) “This book is a methodical effort to articulate an alternative governance doctrine, based both on contemporary developments in political philosophy, and on insights from the new institutionalist revolution which has taken place in the second half of the 20th century. It is not only a work of intellectual synthesis but also a work of theoretical and institutional imagination. Moreover, it is a real contribution to the applied-level efforts to respond to the acute crisis of governance afflicting 21st-century societies.” Paul Dragos Aligica, Senior Research Fellow in the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at George Mason University, author of Institutional Diversity and Political Economy: The Ostroms and Beyond (2014) “The Polycentric Republic reanimates a fine tradition of theorizing about the possibility of a non-sovereign, pluralist political order. In reviving the critique of sovereignty and articulating a promising alternative to the sovereign State, Thunder artfully synthesizes insights from contemporary social science with a neo-Aristotelian account of human flourishing that draws sustenance from the ground-breaking work of Alasdair MacIntyre. This book is a ‘must read’ for anyone looking for a hopeful alternative to the political status quo in our time of growing political troubles.” Kelvin Knight, Reader in Ethics and Politics at London Metropolitan University, author of Aristotelian Philosophy: Ethics and Politics from Aristotle to MacIntyre (2007)