Res Publica started in 1979 when a group of Polish intellectuals decided to set up an independent journal. Issued intermittently since 1979 in Warsaw by the Henryk Krzeczkowski Res Publica Foundation, Res Publica Nowa is headed by the editor-in-chief, Marcin Król. The early issues of the magazine featured prominent contributors including Paweł Śpiewak, Barbara Toruńczyk, Andrzej Micewski, and Stefan Kisielewski. By 1987, Res Publica gained the acceptance of state officials, becoming the only magazine of this kind in the Soviet Bloc.
Thanks to opinion articles from various disciplines including philosophy, politics, sociology, literature, and arts, the journal appeals to ambitious, intelligent and discriminating readers, political and social leaders, political council members on both local and European levels, and politically and culturally engaged students. As of today, the magazine has nearly three thousand readers, and twenty-five thousand internet followers per month, hundreds of participants taking active part in meetings and discussion panels organized in 11 Polish cities and in numerous European metropolises.