Panarchy is a political meta-theory that advocates non-territorial states founded on actual social contracts that are explicitly negotiated and signed between states and their prospective citizens. The explicit social contract sets the terms under which a state may use coercion against its citizens and the conditions under which the contract may be annulled, revised, rescinded, or otherwise exited from. Panarchy does not advocate any particular model of government, but intends to encourage political variety, innovation, experimentation, and choice. With its emphasis on explicit social contracts rather than a single implicit social contract based on geographical territory, Panarchy offers an interesting variation on traditional social contract theory.