Stefano holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences and a Master of Research from the European University Institute of Florence (Italy). He conducted postdoctoral studies at the Otto Suhr Institute at the Free University of Berlin (Germany). He holds a Licenciatura in Sociology from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado (Chile).

His area of expertise lies in international politics with a focus on comparative regionalism. Currently, he is studying the role of regional organizations in coping with political crises within the context of a rise of illiberal democracies and electoral authoritarianism in the Americas and Europe. The project analyses the mechanisms through which regional organizations adopt and adapt global liberal norms of democracy and rule of law protection. Stefano is also interested in regional development policies, the political economy of regional development banks, and the politics of energy integration.

Stefano has been a research fellow at the Center for Latin American and Latino Studies at the American University (Washington, DC). He has also taught at the Universidad de Chile, Universidad Diego Portales, and the Helmuth Schmidt University (Hamburg, Germany). Between 2008 and 2010, he was a consultant at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP, Santiago de Chile).

Recent Publications

• Palestini, Stefano with Martinelli, Erica. 2022. Enforcing peoples’ right to democracy: transnational activism and regional powers in contemporary Inter-American relations. European Journal of International Relations.

• Palestini, Stefano with Madariaga, Aldo. 2021 “Dependent Capitalisms in Contemporary Latin America and Europe” Palgrave Macmillan. 

• Palestini, Stefano. 2021 "From dependency theories to mechanisms of dependency: the contribution of Latin American dependentistas to Global IR”. In Amitav Acharya, Melisa Deciancio & Diana Tussie, eds. “Latin America in Global International Relations”. Routledge.

• Palestini, Stefano with Hellquist, Elin. 2020. “Regional sanctions and the struggle for democracy: Introduction to the special issue”. International Political Science Review.

• Agostinis, Giovanni and Palestini, Stefano  2020. "Transnational governance in motion: Regional development banks, power politics, and the rise and fall of South America's infrastructure integration." Governance. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12529   

• Palestini, Stefano. 2020. Orchestrating Regionalism: The Interamerican Development Bank and the Central American Electric System. Review of Policy Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/ropr.12389

• Palestini, Stefano. 2020. Regional organizations and the politics of sanctions against undemocratic behaviour in the Americas. International Political Science Review https://doi.org/10.1177/0192512120911700

• Closa, Carlos and Stefano Palestini 2018. Tutelage and Regime Survival in Democracy Protection in Regional organizations. The case of Mercosur and Unasur. World Politics. Online first. doi: 10.1017/S0043887118000035.

• Palestini, Stefano and Giovanni Agostinis. 2018. Constructing Regionalism in South America: the cases of sectoral cooperation on transport infrastructure and energy. Journal of International Relations and Development, vol 21 (1): 46-74.

• Palestini, Stefano. 2017. La Gobernanza Regional del Desarrollo en América del Sur (2000-2015). Revista de Estudios Políticos, 176: 191-222.

• De Lombaerde, Philippe, Stephen Kingah, Liliana Lizarazo, Stefano Palestini. 2018. Development and Regionalism.2018. In H. Fagan and R. Munck eds.  Handbook on International Development and Social Change.Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

• Closa, Carlos, Stefano Palestini y Pablo Castillo. 2016. Regional Organizations and Mechanisms for Democracy Protection in Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union. Hamburg: EU-LAC Foundation. 

• Bruszt, Lazslo y Stefano Palestini. 2016. Regional Development Governance. In T. Börzel and T. Risse eds. The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Palestini, Stefano. 2016. Development Banks and Regional Powers: An Analytical Framework. KFG The Transformative Power of Europe. Working Paper No. 77

• Closa, Carlos y Stefano Palestini. 2016. Defensa de la democracia o autodefensa: las organizaciones regionales y la protección de la democracia en América Latina y el Caribe. Pensamiento Propio (44). 

Research