The Standing Group on Southern European Politics (SG-SEP) is sad to record the loss of our founder, Leonardo Morlino. We received from the former Covenor of SG-SEP, Susannah Verney, the following recollection of some of Leonardo Morlino’s seminal contributions to our community:

Leonardo Morlino (1947-2025) was a towering figure in Italian, European and international political science. In the academic study of Southern European politics, Leonardo Morlino was one of the early pioneers who led the way in its emergence as a distinct field of comparative political research in the aftermath of the democratic transitions of the 1970s. He continued to make major contributions to the field throughout his academic career.

As part of the institutionalisation of Southern European studies, Leonardo Morlino founded the
Standing Group in Southern European Politics in 1992. At that time, the number of Standing Groups within the European Consortium of Political Research was barely out of single figures, compared to the 54 Groups existing today. Thus, SG-SEP is one of ECPR’s earliest Standing Groups with a subsequent continuous presence and activity.

In an Association largely dominated by institutions and perspectives from Northern and Western Europe, the Group established a dedicated space for the study of Southern Europe. It provided a forum for the presentation of new research on the region and built a durable network of scholars working in the field. By the time Leonardo Morlino stepped down as the Standing Group’s Convenor in 2007, both South European studies and their presence within ECPR were already well consolidated. Characteristically, the last ECPR General Conference Section which Leonardo Morlino convened on behalf of the Group, on Europeanisation, demonstrated the thematic diversification of South European studies beyond their origins in transitology.

Leonardo Morlino leaves an impressive and multi-dimensional academic legacy, of which the ECPR Standing Group in Southern European Politics is proud to be part. Our Group will continue the work of our founder by supporting the further development of South European studies.

ECPR Standing Group on Southern European Politics