Leonardo Morlino

Leonardo Morlino (28 June 1947 – 18 June 2025) has been an Italian political scientist, internationally known for his theories on democracy and democratization processes.

Biography

He graduated in Political Science and specialized in comparative politics with Giovanni Sartori.

He has been Professor of Political Science at the Faculty of Political Science "Cesare Alfieri" of the University of Florence from 1971 to 2006. There, he served as Dean of the Faculty of Political Science from 1992 to 1995, and as Vice-Rector for Research and Deputy Rector from 2003 to 2006. He was also Director of the Interuniversity Research Center on Southern Europe (CIRES).

He has been Professor of Political Science at LUISS "Guido Carli" University from 2012 to 2018, later becoming Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the same university. There, he held the position of Vice-Rector for Research and contributed to the development of the Luiss School of Government.

He has been President of the Italian Political Science Association (SISP) from 1998 to 2001, and the first Italian President of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) from 2009 to 2012.

He has been a visiting professor at Stanford University, New York University, the Institut d'Études Politiques in Paris, the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales and the Juan March Institute in Madrid, and a fellow at Nuffield College and Yale University.

During Pinochet's dictatorship, and throughout the democratic transition, Morlino actively participated in the work of the Centro de Estudios de la Realidad Contemporánea (CERC) in Santiago, Chile, directed by Carlos Huneeus, as well as in the meetings of the Vicaría de la Solidaridad, promoted by Cardinal Raúl Silva Henríquez. These two institutions played a decisive role in shaping the new Chilean democracy and in the training its future leaders.^[1]

He authored over 45 books and more than 230 journal articles and book chapters, on changes in political regimes, democratization processes, the quality of democracy, equality in contemporary democracies. They have been published in English, French, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Chinese, Mongolian, and Japanese.^[2]

His most recent books include Inequalities in European Democracies (Oxford University Press, forthcoming; with F. Raniolo); 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).

Morlino died on 18 June 2025, at the age of 77.^[3]

The theory of anchoring

Morlino developed the theory of anchoring^[4] to understand how and why there can be democratic consolidation or democratic crisis, the processes of legitimation and of anchoring should be carefully explored. The key proposition is that to achieve consolidation with a limited legitimation strong anchors are needed. The main anchoring mechanisms we can empirically find are: party organization, clientelism, neo-corporatist arrangements, and party control of interests. Other possible anchors include: a strong leader, a successful tv channel, an internet networking skillfully managed. Likewise, there is an internal crisis of democracy when for a number of different reason the existing anchors fade away, i.e. there is a de-anchoring. In case of crisis this phenomenon is usually compounded by delegitimation in terms of dissatisfaction about the implemented policies or of a decisional stalemate.

How to analyze democratic quality

According to Morlino a good democracy is, first of all, a regime widely legitimized and stable, where citizens are fully satisfied because the elected rulers are capable and able to respond to their needs and questions (quality as result). If institutions are still challenged, attention, energy will be absorbed by the needs and objectives of its consolidation or maintenance. In addition, its citizens and communities enjoy freedom and equality beyond the minimum(quality as content). Third, citizens of a good democracy must be able to monitor and evaluate it through elections (electoral accountability) or indirectly (mutual control among the institutions) if and how the two values of freedom and equality are achieved through the full compliance with the current rules, the so-called rule of law, their efficient implementation, effectiveness in decision-making along with the political responsibility for the choices made by elected elites in relation to the questions raised by the civil society (quality as procedure ). Citizens, experts, scholars with different ideal conceptions of democracy can check which of the qualities listed above best suit their ideals and to what extent those qualities are implemented in a certain country at a certain time, using the empirical research conducted by Morlino.^[5]

Prizes and awards

He has been awarded the Dartmouth Medal - Honorable Mention (Library Journal Best Reference 2011) for The International Encyclopedia of Political Science (Sage).

He held Doctorates Honoris Causa from the Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) (La Paz, Bolivia), the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (Lima, Peru), the University of Bucharest (Bucharest, Romania).

Morlino has been the recipient of the Award for Scientific Achievements in Political Science by the Chilean Association of Political Science and of the Award for Academic Achievements and Contribution to the Development of Political Science by the Sociedad Argentina de Analisis Politico (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

He has been appointed Profesor Honorario of the Universidad Nacional de la Matanza (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Honorary Member of Tunisian Association of Political Science, as well as life member of the International Political Science Association (IPSA) and of Mexican Association of Political Sciences (AMECIP).

He has been conferred the title of Huespes de Honor of the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Visitante Distinguido of the city of Puebla (Mexico).

The Facultad de Derecho at the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro in Mexico hosts a "Cátedra Leonardo Morlino sobre estudios de la democratización", dedicated to the analysis and reflection on democracy and democratization in Latin America and beyond^[6].

Books

• Morlino, Leonardo (1980). Come cambiano i regimi politici: strumenti di analisi. Milano: Angeli. ISBN 9788820418144.
• Morlino, Leonardo (1981). Dalla democrazia all'autoritarismo. Il caso spagnolo in prospettiva comparata. Bologna: Il Mulino. OCLC 1981.
• Morlino, Leonardo (1985). Cómo cambian los regímenes políticos: Instrumentos de análisis. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Constitucionales. ISBN 9788424910082.
• Morlino, Leonardo, ed. (1989). Scienza politica. Torino: Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli. ISBN 9788878600287.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Uleri, Pier Vincenzo (1990). Le Elezioni nel mondo 1982-1989. Firenze: Giunta Regionale Toscana. OCLC 801861196.
• Morlino, Leonardo, ed. (1991). Costruire la democrazia: gruppi e partiti in Italia. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815032478.
• Morlino, Leonardo, ed. (1995). Laurea in Scienze Politiche. Identità e sbocchi professionali. Florence: Editrice La Giuntina. OCLC 868530045.
• Morlino, Leonardo (1998). Democracy between consolidation and crisis: parties, groups, and citizens in Southern Europe. Oxford New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198280828.

Italian translation: Morlino, Leonardo (2008). Democrazie tra consolidamento e crisi: partiti, gruppi e cittadini nel Sud Europa (in Italian). Bologna: Il mulino. ISBN 9788815124074.

• Morlino, Leonardo; Della Porta, Donatella (2001). Rights and the quality of democracy in Italy. A research report. Stockholm: IDEA.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Della Porta, Donatella; Cotta, Maurizio (2008). Scienza politica. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815125620.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2003). Democrazie e democratizzazioni. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815085122.

Morlino, Leonardo (2009). Democracias y democratizaciones (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). Madrid: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. ISBN 9788474764741.

• Morlino, Leonardo; Della Porta, Donatella; Cotta, Maurizio (2004). Fondamenti di scienza politica. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815102218.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2005). Introduzione alla ricerca comparata. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815107619.

Morlino, Leonardo (2010). Introducción a la investigación comparada (in Spanish). Madrid: Alianza Editorial. ISBN 9788420693903.

Morlino, Leonardo (2013). Introduction à la politique comparée (in French). Paris: A. Colin. ISBN 9782200279271.

• Morlino, Leonardo; Gelli, Francesca (2005). La democrazia locale tra rappresentanza e partecipazione. Milano: Angeli. ISBN 9788846462190.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Palombella, Gianluigi, eds. (2010) Rule of Law and Democracy. Brill: Leiden. ISBN 9789004181694
• Morlino, Leonardo (2012). Changes for democracy: actors, structures, processes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199698110.

Morlino, Leonardo (2014). Democrazia e mutamenti: attori, strutture, processi (in Italian). Roma: Luiss University Press. ISBN 9788861051751.

• Morlino, Leonardo; Piana, Daniela; Raniolo, Francesco, eds. (2013). La qualità della democrazia in Italia, 1992-2012. Bologna: Il Mulino. ISBN 9788815244307.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2014). The quality of democracy in Latin America. A research report. Stockholm: IDEA International.

Morlino, Leonardo (2014). La calidad de las democracias en América Latina : informe para IDEA Internacional (in Spanish). Estocolmo San José, Costa Rica: IDEA International. ISBN 9789187729607.

• Morlino, Leonardo; Fantoni, Marcello, eds. (2015). The American exceptionalism revisited. Roma: Viella. ISBN 9788867283286.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Sottilotta, Cecilia Emma, eds. (2019). The Politics of the Eurozone Crisis in Southern Europe. A Comparative Reappraisal. London: Palgrave. ISBN 9783030244705.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2020). Equality, Freedom, and Democracy. Europe After the Great Recession. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198813873.

Journal articles (1991-2015)

• Morlino, Leonardo (April 1991). "La scienza politica italiana: tradizione e realtà". Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 21 (1): 70–102.
• Morlino, Leonardo (December 1991). "Political science in Italy: tradition and empiricism". European Journal of Political Research. 20 (3–4): 341–358. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.1991.tb00274.x.
• Morlino, Leonardo (1992). "Consolidações democráticas na Europa Meridional. Indicações teóricas para análise empírica". Dados. 35 (2): 145–172.
• Morlino, Leonardo (1992). "I partiti nella transizione". Views. 2: 19–34.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Mattei, Franco (April 1992). "Vecchio e nuovo autoritarismo nel Sud Europa". Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 22 (1): 137–160. doi:10.1017/S004884020001827X. S2CID 166004102.
• Morlino, Leonardo (September–December 1992). "Partidos, grupos y consolidaciòn democratica in Italia". Revista del Centro de Estudios Constitucionales. 13: 73–102.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Montero, José Ramon (October–December 1993). "Legitimación y democracia en el Sur de Europa". Revista Espanola de Investigaciones Sociologicas. 64: 7–40. Pdf.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Montero, José Ramon (April 1994). "Legittimità, consolidamento e crisi nell'Europa Meridionale". Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 24 (1): 22–66.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Montero, José Ramon (1995), "Legitimacy and democracy in Southern Europe", in Gunther, Richard; Diamandouros, Nikiforos P.; Puhle, Hans-Jürgen (eds.), The politics of democratic consolidation: Southern Europe in comparative perspective, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 231–260, ISBN 9780801849824. Preview. Full text.
• Morlino, Leonardo (April 1995). "Consolidation and party government in Southern Europe". International Political Science Review. 16 (2): 145–167. doi:10.1177/019251219501600203. S2CID 153430855.
• Morlino, Leonardo (January 1996). "Crisis of parties and change of party system in Italy". Party Politics. 2 (1): 5–30. doi:10.1177/1354068896002001001. S2CID 145018237.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Tarchi, Marco (July 1996). "The dissatisfied society: the roots of political change in Italy". European Journal of Political Research. 30 (1): 41–63. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.1996.tb00667.x.
• Morlino, Leonardo (September 1996). "Democratic consolidation and convergence in Southern Europe: the Italian case". Democratization. 3 (3): 189–214. doi:10.1080/13510349608403476.
• Morlino, Leonardo (September 1997). "Is there an impact? And where is it? Electoral reform and the party system in Italy". South European Society and Politics. 2 (3): 103–131. doi:10.1080/13608749708539520.
• Morlino, Leonardo (December 1998). "Come siamo ovvero come ci raccontiamo. La politica comparata di Daalder, e altri (1945-1995)". Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 28 (3): 543–566. doi:10.1426/1636. S2CID 161865759.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2000). "Consolidaciòn democratica: la teorìa del anclaje". Revista Argentina de Ciencia Politica. 4: 9–34.
• Morlino, Leonardo (June 2000). "How we are, or how we say that we are: the post–war comparative politics of Hans Daadler and others". European Journal of Political Research. 37 (4): 497–516. doi:10.1111/1475-6765.00523.
• Morlino, Leonardo (October 2000). "Architectures constitutionnelles et politiques democratiques en Europe de l'Est". Revue Française de Science Politique. 50 (4–5): 679–711. doi:10.3406/rfsp.2000.395503. Full text.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2001). "Consolidation démocratique: la théorie de l'ancrage". Revue Internationale de Politique Comparée. 8 (2): 245–267. doi:10.3917/ripc.082.0245.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2001). "Consolidamento Democratico: la teoria dell'ancoraggio" [Democratic consolidation: a theory of anchoring]. Quaderni di Scienza Politica. 8 (2): 217–247. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2001). "Crisi democratica e teoria dell'ancoraggio". Quaderno di Studi Parlamentari. 12: 101–118.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2002). "Democrazia e spiegazioni". Quaderno di Studi Parlamentari. 13: 199–213.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2002). "Democratic anchoring: how to analyze consolidation and crisis". Central European Political Science Review. 3 (10): 6–39. Publisher.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2003). "Les effets de l'européanisation sur la représentation politique en Europe du sud". Pole Sud. 19 (1): 79–96. doi:10.3406/pole.2003.1155.
• Morlino, Leonardo (September 2003). "What is a 'good' democracy? Theory and the case of Italy". South European Society and Politics. 8 (3): 1–32. doi:10.1080/13608740808539654. S2CID 154069872.
• Morlino, Leonardo (March 2004). "'Good' and 'bad' democracies: how to conduct research into the quality of democracy". Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics. 20 (1): 5–27. doi:10.1080/13523270410001687082. S2CID 153770386.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Salvati, Michele; Calise, Mauro (August 2004). "Discussione su "Machiavelli's children. Leaders and their legacies in Italy and Japan" di Richard J. Samuels. Con una replica di Richard J. Samuels". Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 34 (2): 285–290. doi:10.1426/13579.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Diamond, Larry Jay (October 2004). "An overview". Journal of Democracy. 15 (4): 20–31. doi:10.1353/jod.2004.0060. S2CID 158341205.
• Morlino, Leonardo (December 2004). "What is a 'good' democracy?". Democratization. 11 (5): 10–32. doi:10.1080/13510340412331304589. S2CID 145137496.
• Morlino, Leonardo (December 2004). "Las alternativas no democráticas". POSTData: Revista de Reflexión y Análisis Político. 10: 149–183.
• Morlino, Leonardo (August 2005). "Spiegare la qualità democratica: quanto sono rilevanti le tradizioni autoritarie?". Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 35 (2): 191–212. doi:10.1426/20465.
• Morlino, Leonardo (September 2005). "Anchors, anchoring and democratic change". Comparative Political Studies. 38 (7): 743–770. doi:10.1177/0010414004274401. S2CID 153826275.

Morlino, Leonardo (2013), "Anclaje institucional y consolidaciόn democrática", in Pérez, Gabriel (ed.), Temas selectos de la teoría política contemporánea (in Spanish), México, D.F: Ediciones Eón Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Cuajimalpa, ISBN 9786078289424.

• Morlino, Leonardo; Fargion, Valeria; Profeti, Stefania (2006). "Européisation et représentation territoriale en Italie". Pôle Sud. 24 (1): 99–120. doi:10.3406/pole.2006.1268.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Fargion, Valeria; Profeti, Stefania (September 2006). "Europeanisation and territorial representation in Italy". West European Politics. 29 (4): 757–783. doi:10.1080/01402380600842338. S2CID 143975219.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Bosco, Anna (December 2006). "What changes in South European parties? A comparative introduction". South European Society and Politics. 11 (3–4): 331–358. doi:10.1080/13608740600855878. S2CID 154920907.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2007), "La qualità della democrazia: presupposti e problemi teorici", in Associazione per gli studi e le ricerche parlamentari (ed.), Seminario 2006, Quaderno dell, vol. 17, Torino: Giappichelli, pp. 129–141, ISBN 9788834874738.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2007). "Explicar la calidad democrática: ¿qué tan relevantes son las tradiciones autoritarias?" [Explaining democratic quality: how relevant is the authoritarian legacy?]. Revista de Ciencia Política. 27 (2): 3–22. doi:10.4067/S0718-090X2007000300001.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2008). "Democracia, calidad, seguridad: presupuestos y problemas". Sistema. 203–204: 21–34.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2008). "¿Regímenes híbridos o regímenes en transición?". Sistema. 207: 3–22.
• Morlino, Leonardo (January 2008). "Democracy and changes: how research tails reality". West European Politics. 31 (1–2): 40–59. doi:10.1080/01402380701833715. hdl:11385/6606. S2CID 53354031.
• Morlino, Leonardo (August 2008). "Hybrid regimes or regimes in transition?" [Regimi ibridi o regimi in transizione?]. Rivista Italiana di Scienza Politica. 38 (2): 169–190. doi:10.1426/27430.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2009). "La calidad de la democracia". Claves de Razón Prática. 193: 26–35. Also available at: Revistas Culturales.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2009). "The quality of democracies in Europe: a research report" (PDF). Italian Political Science. 2 (3): 1–6.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2009), "La classificazione dei regimi politici: fondamenti teorici e sviluppi empirici", in Associazione per gli studi e le ricerche parlamentari (ed.), Seminario 2009, Quaderno dell, vol. 19, Torino: Giappichelli, pp. 75–88, ISBN 9788834897072.
• Morlino, Leonardo (July 2009). "Are there hybrid regimes? Or are they just an optical illusion?". European Political Science Review. 1 (2): 273–296. doi:10.1017/S1755773909000198. S2CID 154947839.
• Morlino, Leonardo (Summer 2009). "Transition from democracy to democracy: is it possible in Italy?". Bulletin of Italian Politics. 1 (1): 7–27. Pdf.
• Morlino, Leonardo (November 2009). "The quality of democracy: an agenda for future research?". Participation. 33 (2): 3.^{[permanent dead link]} Pdf.^{[permanent dead link]}
• Morlino, Leonardo (June 2009). "Legitimacy and the quality of democracy". International Social Science Journal. 60 (196): 211–222. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2451.2010.01717.x.
• Morlino, Leonardo (September 2010). "Authoritarian legacies, politics of the past and the quality of democracy in Southern Europe: open conclusions". South European Society and Politics. 15 (3): 507–529. doi:10.1080/13608746.2010.513609. S2CID 145274738.
• Morlino, Leonardo (October–December 2010). "Autorità e legittimità tra consolidamento e crisi" [Authority and legitimacy between consolidation and crisis]. Rassegna Italiana di Sociologia. 51 (4): 571–598. doi:10.1423/33592. Also available at Rivisteweb.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2011). "Analyzing democratic qualities". Central European Political Science Review. 12 (44): 9–45. Publisher.
• Morlino, Leonardo (August 2011). "Per non dimenticare Bentley: dai gruppi alle politiche". Rivista Italiana di Politiche Pubbliche. 10 (2): 397–406. doi:10.1483/35126. Also available at Rivisteweb.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Dressel, Björn; Pelizzo, Riccardo (November 2011). "The quality of democracy in Asia-Pacific: issues and findings". International Political Science Review. 32 (5): 491–511. doi:10.1177/0192512111418334. hdl:1885/23633. S2CID 145095238.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2012). "Calidad democrática entre lίderes y partidos" (PDF). Revista Paraguaya de Sociología. 137: 43–66.
• Morlino, Leonardo (June 2012). "Observando las diferentes calidades de la democracia". Revista Mexicana de Analisis Politico y Administracion Publica. 1 (1): 9–48.
• Morlino, Leonardo (May 2013). "The impossible transition and the unstable new mix: Italy 1992–2012". Comparative European Politics. 11 (3): 337–359. doi:10.1057/cep.2012.41. S2CID 145533884.
• Morlino, Leonardo (December 2013). "On Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson "Why Nations Fail". A politological reading". Stato e Mercato. 33 (3): 485–508. doi:10.1425/75014. Also available at Rivisteweb.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Quaranta, Mario (March 2014). "The non-procedural determinants of responsiveness". West European Politics. 37 (2): 331–360. doi:10.1080/01402382.2014.887878. S2CID 153712420.
• Morlino, Leonardo; Piana, Daniela (November 2014). "Economic crisis in a stalemated democracy: the Italian case". American Behavioral Scientist. 58 (12): 1657–1682. doi:10.1177/0002764214534668. S2CID 56121088.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2015). "Changes for democracy: are there hybrid regimes?". Central European Political Science Review. 16 (60): 14–49. Publisher. Pdf.
• Morlino, Leonardo (2015). "Transitions to democracy: what theory to grasp complexity?". Historein. 15 (1): 13–31. doi:10.12681/historein.288 (inactive 12 July 2025).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
• Morlino, Leonardo (2015). "Transiciones democraticas: entre cuestiones teόricas y análisis empirico". Revista Española de Ciencia Política. 39: 17–42.
• Morlino, Leonardo (July 2015). "Cómo analizar las calidades democraticas?" (PDF). Revista Latinoamericana de Política Comparada. 10: 13–36. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.