Leonardo Morlino in Memoriam (1947-2025)

The IPSA family is deeply saddened by the passing of Past President Leonardo Morlino, who died on 17 June 2025 at the age of 77. On behalf of IPSA and the global political science community, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones.

Leonardo Morlino (born 28 June 1947) was a prominent Italian political scientist specializing in comparative politics. He was Emeritus Professor of Political Science and Director of the Research Center on Democracies and Democratizations at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome.

Morlino earned his PhD in political science from the University of Naples in 1970 and furthered his academic training through several programs in political science and sociology at Yale University, the Cini Foundation in Venice, and the Centro di Studi Economico e Sociali in Milan. He also participated in the first Summer School in Comparative Politics led by former IPSA President Stein Rokkan in Cologne.

Prof. Morlino held various faculty positions at the University of Florence and LUISS Guido Carli University, as well as professorships. In 2002-2003, he was the Bechtel Visiting Professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business; in 1995 visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution; and in 1989-1990 NATO Fellow of the Center for European Studies, Stanford University. His academic credentials also included stints as the Monte dei Paschi Fellow at St. Anthony's College, Oxford (2010); the Jemolo Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford (2007 and 1998); visiting professor at the Juan March Institute, Madrid (1995-96); and visiting professor at the Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Paris (1993-95, 2006, 2009, 2013). His research spanned Southern and Eastern Europe, with a focus on democratization, the quality of democracy, and the role of international actors in democratic transitions.

Prof. Morlino authored over 45 books and more than 230 journal articles and book chapters, published in English, French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese. His most recent books include Equality, Freedom, and Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2020); Comparison: A Methodological Introduction for the Social Sciences (Barbara Budrich Publisher, 2018); The Impact of Economic Crisis on South European Democracies (Palgrave, 2017); How Economic Crisis Changes Democracy. Evidence from Southern Europe (Palgrave, 2017, with F. Raniolo); The Quality of Democracies in Latin America (International IDEA, 2016); Changes for Democracy: Actors, Structures, Processes (Oxford University Press, 2011); Democracias y Democratizaciones (CIS, 2008); International Actors, Democratization and the Rule of Law: Anchoring Democracy? (Routledge, 2008, with A. Magen); Democratization and the European Union. Comparing Central and Eastern European Post-Communist Countries (Routledge, 2010, with W. Sadurski); Introduzione alla ricerca comparata (Il Mulino, 2005) and Democracy Between Consolidation and Crisis. Parties, Groups, and Citizens in Southern Europe (Oxford University Press, 1998). 

Prof. Morlino served on the IPSA Executive Committee from 2003 to 2006, followed by his role as First Vice-President from 2006 to 2009. He then served as IPSA President from 2009 to 2012. He also co-edited IPSA’s International Encyclopedia of Political Science (Sage, 2011) with Bertrand Badie and Dirk Berg-Schlosser.