Welcome to my website! I am an Irish political philosopher currently working as a permanent research fellow at the University of Navarra’s Institute for Culture and Society in Pamplona, Spain. I have a formal training in political theory and broad intellectual interests spanning ethics, normatively oriented political and social theory, and legal philosophy. Much of my academic career has been devoted to the question, how can free and flourishing human societies be created and preserved over time, in particular under conditions of social complexity, fragmentation, and social division? More specifically: what types of political and social system might fare best at managing the challenges of public order and conflict while simultaneously allowing for sufficient associational freedom and experimentation to support a rich and adaptive social ecology?

My research has been supported by two major grants awarded by Spain's State Research Agency (AEI) in recognition of an outstanding research career: a Ramón y Cajal fellowship (2017-2021) and an I3 talent retention grant (2022-24). I earned my BA and MA in philosophy at University College Dublin, and my Ph.D. in political science at the University of Notre Dame. I have 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), before joining the University of Navarra's Institute for Culture and Society in 2012.

My research, which aims to develop an ethically rich and psychologically plausible theory of politics and social organisation, exposes the limitations of top-down, Statist models of order and the advantages of bottom-up, community-based approaches to the governance of social life. My working hypothesis is that a federated political and social order granting generous leeway for self-regulation by local and municipal associations and communities can provide a promising framework for solving social problems and living dignified, flourishing human lives.

My academic writings include The Polycentric Republic: A Theory of Civil Order for Free and Diverse Societies (with Routledge, 2025), Citizenship and the Pursuit of the Worthy Life (Cambridge University Press, 2014), The Ethics of Citizenship in the 21st Century (edited volume, Springer, 2017), and numerous articles in leading academic journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Political Theory, and Journal of Business Ethics. I am also co-editor (with Pablo Paniagua) of Polycentric Governance and the Good Society (Lexington Books, 2024).

My passion for the study of freedom goes hand in hand with a passion for promoting a deeper understanding of freedom and its preconditions beyond the "ivory tower." I have given many talks to non-academic audiences, provided advice to elected politicians, published dozens of op eds on current affairs issues in newspapers such as The Irish Times and El Mundo and digital media platforms such as The Conversation, Mercatornet and the Clingendael Spectator, and conducted dozens of media interviews, including guest appearances on Newstalk (an Irish radio station), TV3's Tonight Show (in Ireland), and GB News. Last but not least, I run a blog about issues affecting freedom in the West, called The Freedom Blog.