What is "res publica"

n. The common good, as identified with the wider state; the commonwealth, the body politic.

n. a politically organized body of people under a single government; "the state has elected a new president"; "African nations"; "students who had come to the nation's capitol"; "the country's largest manufacturer"; "an industrialized land" [syn: state, nation, country, land, commonwealth, body politic]

Res publica is a Latin phrase, loosely meaning ‘public affair’. It is the root of the word ‘ republic’, and the word ‘ commonwealth’ has traditionally been used as a synonym for it; however translations vary widely according to the context. ‘Res’ is a nominative singular Latin noun for a substantive or concrete thing – as opposed to ‘spes’, which means something unreal or ethereal – and ‘publica’ is an attributive adjective meaning ‘of and/or pertaining to the state or the public’. Hence a literal translation is, ‘the public thing/affair’.

Res publica may refer to:

• Res publica - a Latin phrase meaning "public issue" or "public matter".
• Republic - a type of state, deriving its name from the Latin phrase.
• The Roman Republic - an ancient polity, preceding the Roman Empire.
• De re publica - a dialogue by Cicero.
• Union for the Republic - Res Publica - a former Estonian political party.
• ResPublica - a political think tank in the UK.
• Res Publica (US) - a US organization promoting "good governance, civic virtue and deliberative democracy."
• Res Publica, Book One - a novel-in-verse by the New Zealand poet, Zireaux.
• , a Polish cultural-political magazine, published 1979-1981, 1987-1992 and then as , 1992-2002

Res Publica is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of moral, legal, social, and political philosophy. It was established in 1995 and is published by Springer Science+Business Media. The editors-in-chief are Philip Cook ( University of Edinburgh) and Sune Lægaard ( Roskilde University). It is the official journal of the Association for Social and Political Philosophy (formerly the Association for Legal and Social Philosophy).