Resumé
David Thunder
Political Philosophy Researcher & Lecturer
Institute for Culture and Society
University of Navarra
Pamplona, Spain
Education
2000-2006
MA & Ph.D in Political Science
1997-1998
MA in Philosophy
1993-1997
BA in French and Philosophy
University of Notre Dame
University College Dublin
University College Dublin
Academic Positions
Research Fellow
2012-2024
2011-2012
Visiting Assistant Professor
2009-2011
Visiting Assistant Professor
2008-2009
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
2007-2008
Junior Visiting Fellow
2006-2007
Visiting Assistant Professor
University of Navarra - Institute for Culture and Society
Villanova University - Department of Political Science
Villanova University - Matthew J Ryan Center
Princeton University - James Madison Program, Dept of Politics
Witherspoon Institute, Princeton
Bucknell University - Department of Political Science
Skills & Experiences
Leadership & Project Management
Critical and Creative Thinking
Academic Writing and Publishing
Writing for popular audiences
Public Speaking
Conducting Media Interviews
Political Consulting
4 Languages
Video Editing (Adobe Premiere Pro)
Coordinated two academic edited volumes; served as Principal Investigator of a three year research project on governance and complexity
My research on polycentric governance aims to provide an ethical and normative account of polycentric institutions of self-government, incorporating insights from MacIntyrean social theory as well as federalism and bottom-up theories of institutional development.
I have published a monograph with Cambridge Univ. Press, two edited volumes, ten book chapters, and numerous articles in prominent peer reviewed journals like American Journal of Political Science, Political Theory and Journal of Business Ethics.
I write weekly on culture and current affairs in my Freedom Blog, and have written dozens of op eds for newspapers like The Irish Times and El Mundo, as well as online media like Spiked, Gript, Mercatornet, The Conversation, and The Clingendael Spectator.
I have extensive experience giving talks to both academic and general audiences, large and small, from Spain and France to the UK, United States, Mexico, and Chile.
I have conducted over 20 radio and podcast interviews, and two live TV interviews, on topics such as media diversity, populism, pandemic measures, and freedom of speech.
I have provided policy and strategic advice to elected politicians, electoral candidates, and political movements.
English (native speaker), Spanish (fluent), French (proficient), Italian (good comprehension)
Have produced and edited dozens of social media videos using Adobe Premiere Pro
Awards & Certificates
2017-2021
Ramón y Cajal Research Grant
Grant awarded by the Spanish government in recognition of an outstanding research trajectory, to support research costs for 4 years, and co-finance my salary for the duration of 5 years. €200K in total.
2022-2024
I3 Certificate & Research Consolidation Grant
I won this certificate and consolidation grant from the Spanish government in recognition of outstanding research. €100K in total.
2004-2015
Two sexenio certificates
Official certification by ANECA (National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain) of 12 years of research activity and publications
Research Areas
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Ethics of citizenship
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Democracy, self-government and federalism
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Polycentric governance, freedom and human flourishing in social organisations & practices
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Theory and practice of popular sovereignty
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The value and practice of free speech in an era of Big Data and social media
Research Groups & Projects
RESPUBLICA Project
2020-2023
I was principal investigator of "RESPUBLICA: Building Res Publica in a Culturally and Morally Complex Society." The project was financed by FUNCIVA (Fundación Ciudadanía y Valores). We investigated strategies and norms for adapting political structures and practices to the needs of complex societies (€39K in total)
2024
Polycentric Governance, Freedom & Human Flourishing in Social Organisations and Practices
I am coordinating a group of faculty and doctoral students sharing research and ideas related to good governance in complex social organisations.
Academic Publications
Please find an up-to-date list of my academic publications. I have published a single-author book with Cambridge University Press, two edited volumes, ten book chapters, and numerous articles in prominent peer reviewed journals like American Journal of Political Science, Political Theory and Journal of Business Ethics..
"Thunder's account of the role of citizenship in a worthy life is a broadly attractive one, and he defends it quite ably in his penultimate chapter against six important objections to his integrationist thesis. He writes, moreover, with clarity and grace."
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- Richard Dagger, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law, University of Richmond.
Monographs
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Citizenship and the Pursuit of the Worthy Life. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
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The Polycentric Republic: A Theory of Civil Order for Free and Diverse Societies. Under review
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Edited Volumes
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The Ethics of Citizenship in the 21st Century. Editor and contributor. Spring, 2017.
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Polycentric Governance and the Good Society: A Normative and Philosophical Investigation. Co-edited with Pablo Paniagua. Forthcoming with Lexington Books.
Journal Articles
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“Moral Parochialism and the Limits of Impartiality." The Heythrop Journal, vol. 61 (2020), pp. 24-34.
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“Can a Good Person Be a Good Trader? An Ethical Defense of Financial Trading." Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 159, no. 1 (Sep 2019), pp. 89-103. Co-authored with Marta Rocchi.
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“The Public Role of Humanities Scholarship, in the Humboldtian Tradition." University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 85, no. 4 (Fall 2016), pp. 46-66.
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“Rethinking the Ethics of Giving: The Normative and Motivational Inadequacy of Resource Management Approaches to Beneficence." Journal of Social Philosophy, vol. 46, no. 3 (Fall 2015), pp. 297-317.
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“Why Respect for Freedom Cannot Explain the Content and Grounds of Human Rights: A Response to Valentini.” Political Theory, vol. 42, n. 4 (August 2014), pp. 490-497.
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“Am I My Brother’s Keeper? Grounding and Motivating an Ethos of Social Responsibility in a Free Society.” Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, vol. 12, no. 4 (Dec 2009), pp. 559-580.
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“Why Value Pluralism Does Not Support the State’s Enforcement of Liberal Autonomy: A Response to Crowder.” Political Theory, vol. 37, no. 1 (February 2009), pp. 154-160.
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"Are Traditional Catholics Defective Citizens?" Josephinum Journal of Theology, vol. 16, no. 2 (2009), pp. 379-393.
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“A Rawlsian Argument Against the Duty of Civility.” American Journal of Political Science, vol. 50, no. 3 (July 2006), pp. 676-690.
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“Can a Good Person be a Lawyer?” Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics & Public Policy, vol. 20, no. 1 (2006), pp. 313-334.
Book Chapters
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“An Ethical Case for Bottom-Up, Polycentric Governance in a Complex Society.” In Polycentric Governance and the Good Society: A Normative and Philosophical Investigation. Co-edited by David Thunder and Pablo Paniagua. Forthcoming with Lexington Books.
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"Associational Life and Liberty: A Critical Interpretation of Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.” In Culture, Secularisation and Democracy: Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville. Edited by Hans-Martien ten Napel and Sophie van Bijsterveld. Forthcoming with Routledge.
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“Imagining a Post-Sovereign Polity as a Realistic Utopia.” In Rethinking Democracy for Post-Utopian Worlds. Alternative Political Projects After the Sovereign State. Edited by Julia Urabayen and Jorge León Casero. Forthcoming with Springer.
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“The ‘Neighbourhood as a Pivotal Element of the Infrastructure of a Flourishing Society.” In Happiness and Domestic Life: The Influence of the Home on Subjective and Social Wellbeing (New York: Routledge, 2022). With Ana Cecilia Serrano-Núñez.
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“Overcoming the Myth of the Sovereign, Self-Governing People.” In Engaging Authority: Citizenship and Political Community, ed. Trevor Stack & Rose Luminiello. (London: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2022). pp. 125-146.
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“From Polis to Metropolis: On the Limits of Classical Approaches to Governance in a Fragmented Social Landscape.” In Disciplines of the City: New Forms of Governance in Today’s Postmetropolises, ed. Julia Urabayen & Jorge León Casero (New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2019), pp. 3-31.
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“The Place of Conscience-Based Exemptions in the Struggle Against Injustice.” In Contemporary Challenges to Conscience: Legal & Ethical Frameworks for Professional Conduct, ed. Alexander Stepkowski (Peter Lang, 2019). Click here for order information.
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​​“What is the Use of an Ethical Theory of Citizenship?” In The Ethics of Citizenship in the 21st Century, ed. David Thunder. Springer, 2017, pp. 3-12.
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“An Ethical Defense of Citizenship.” In The Ethics of Citizenship in the 21st Century, ed. David Thunder. Springer, 2017, pp. 85-104.
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“Managing the Social and Moral Costs of a Culture of Choice.” In Margaret S. Archer sobre Cultura y Socialización en la Modernidad Tardía [Margaret S. Archer on Culture and Socialization in Late Modernity]. Eunsa, 2015.
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“Public Reason and Abortion Revisited.” In Persons, Moral Worth, and Embryos: A Critical Analysis of Pro-Choice Arguments, ed. Stephen Napier. Springer, 2011, pp. 239-254.
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​“Can the Political Priority of Liberty be Squared with the Ethical Priority of Flourishing?” In Reading Rasmussen and Den Uyl: Critical Essays on Norms of Liberty, ed. Aeon J. Skoble. Lexington Books, 2008, pp. 27-39.
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“Public Discourse Without God? Moral Disposition in Democratic Deliberation.” In Ethics Without God? The Divine in Contemporary Moral and Political Thought, ed. Fulvio Di Blasi, Joshua P. Hochschild, and Jeffrey Langan. St. Augustine Press, 2007, pp. 49-64.
Book Translation:
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Fulvio de Blasi. God and the Natural Law: A Rereading of Thomas Aquinas. Translated (from Italian) by David Thunder. St. Augustine Press, 2006.
Research Visits
May-June 2017
University of Oxford
June-July 2019
Technische Universität of Munich
Jan-Mar 2022
University of Leiden
Oct 2023-Jan 2024
University of Strasbourg
Visiting Fellow, Programme for the Foundations of Law and Constitutional Government, Faculty of Law
Visiting Scholar, Hochschule für Politik
Guest Researcher, School of Law
Visiting Fellow, DRES Research Unit (Droit, Religion, Entreprise et Société)
Teaching
I have taught the equivalent of over 20 semester-long courses at three universities. Here is a selection:
2006 & 2007
Bucknell University
Introduction to Political Theory (undergraduate)
2010
Villanova University
Citizenship in Practice (MA course)
2010-11
Villanova University
Modernity and Its Discontents (modern section of great books course)
2009-2011
Villanova University
Traditions in Conversation (premodern section of great books course)
2012
Villanova University
Globalisation and Community
2012-13
University of Navarra
Introduction to Ethics (undergraduate)
2014
University of Navarra
Freedom, Power and Authority (advanced undergraduate)
2017-19
University of Navarra
Ethics and Social Order (MA course)
2019
Society & Politics: The Quest for Order (PPE undergraduate)
University of Navarra
Democracy and Self-Government (PPE undergraduate elective)
2021
University of Navarra
Public Engagement
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MEDIA APPEARANCES: I have conducted over 20 radio and podcast interviews and two live TV discussions on a variety of topics of public interest, including the rise of populism, the future of the European Union, the limits of the sovereign State, and pandemic policies in the West.
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OP EDS: I have published over 60 opinion articles in English and Spanish-speaking newspapers and online media, including The Irish Times, Spiked, Mercatornet, Gript, El Mundo, El País, Expansión, El Confidencial, and Diario de Navarra, on a wide range of issues, including the rise of populism in the West, the future of UK after Brexit, and the handling of the pandemic by Western governments.
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PUBLIC TALKS: I have given guest talks to numerous civic and cultural associations, including Kratos (a Spanish/Navarran association aimed at educating the public about the nature of a free and responsible society), TASC (Think-Tank for Action on Social Change), Sociedad de Estudios Vascos (Society of Basque Studies), Encuentro Mundial de Valores (Mexico), Unión Social de Empresario Mexicanos, and World Youth Alliance.