One research of the Institute for Culture and Society(ICS) focuses on analysing a new paradigm of social order and self-government, associative pluralism. It seeks to give effective representation to the different associations present in society and to delegate a large part of the tasks of government to the local levels.

David Thunder, researcher of project 'Religion and Civil Society' of the ICS of the University of Navarra, has received a financial aid Ramón y Cajal with an amount of more than 200,000 euros to carry it out. These grants, awarded by the Ministry of Economics and Competitiveness, promote the incorporation of researchers with an outstanding track record in centers of research and development.

According to Thunder, society is not formed by a association of individuals, but by a association of associations, which have "different purposes and values, although they have certain ethical and cultural framework in common". He explained that they are made up of people with important convergences in their conception of what is good and just. Examples of associations could be a Catholic community, a guild or a university.

"Pluralism offers an alternative approach to statism: it rejects the idea of a massive delegation of power to the state for the governance of social life," he said.

Thus, its research aims to find a way to "coordinate the actions and life of different associations" to achieve a common good. For researcher, there is currently a numerical majority (whoever has the largest issue of votes, seats...) that "has a disproportionate weight in political decisions that correspond to minority communities". The result is that a majority imposes itself and creates "social tension and sometimes gives rise to violence".

How to reconcile the presence of different moral ideas within the same society?

"From the point of view of the modern state, the problem is how to reconcile these differences between what individuals and groups consider good and bad," he said. To prevent conflicts between what majorities and minorities think, Thunder believes the solution is to give more effective representation to different associations and to delegate a large part of the tasks of government to local levels. "This can give real and effective recognition to the internal diversity of nations," he said.

In addition, fostering the political management at the local level allows citizens to get involved according to researcher. "The advantage of a more pluralistic view of the social order and the political order is that this negotiation of ideas can be more participatory," he added. For him, this, in turn, allows citizens to feel that they can have an impact on political life and not just go to vote once every four years.

• Full report on ICS blog