Biography

Andrea Vaccaro is a Max Weber Fellow at the EUI. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, an Associate Member of St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, and a Visiting Researcher at the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). He has also held teaching roles at University of Oxford and Sapienza University of Rome.

Andrea’s research investigates how strong states with democratic institutions are built, how they shape policy outcomes, what role development cooperation plays therein, and how concepts central to these questions are defined and measured. His work is ultimately driven by the desire to better understand how well-governed states, capable of effectively responding to present and future challenges, can emerge and endure.

Andrea’s work has been published by leading presses such as Oxford University Press and journals such as Democratization, European Political Science, and World Development. Andrea completed his PhD at Sapienza University of Rome in 2021, with a dissertation titled ‘On the Measurement of State Capacity: Quantitative Questions and Conceptual Considerations’.

Mentor

• Kristin, Fabbe

Recent research output

• VACCARO, Andrea; GISSELQUIST, Rachel M. (2026), Past stateness, present strength : how (the lack of) state experience shapes today's fragile states, Article
• VACCARO, Andrea; HALE, Thomas; PETHERICK, Anna (2026), COVID-19 vaccination policies around the world : how democracy influenced prioritisation strategies, Article
• TUDOR, Maya; VACCARO, Andrea (2026), Why liberal rights define democracy, Article
• VACCARO, Andrea (2026), Measures of democracy, Contribution to book
• GISSELQUIST, Rachel M.; VACCARO, Andrea (2025), How states respond to crisis : pandemic governance across the Global South, Book
• GISSELQUIST, Rachel M.; JUSTINO, Patricia; VACCARO, Andrea (2025), Fragile aid : development cooperation in weak states and conflict contexts, Book