Vincenzo Bove

Vincenzo Bove is an Italian political economist and Professor of Economics at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca. He is also an Honorary Professor of Political Science at the University of Warwick and a Senior Research Fellow at RAND Europe. His research focuses on political economy, civil–military relations, defence economics, international migration, military intervention and terrorism.

Education and career

Before entering academia, Bove served as an officer in the Italian Navy, principally working in anti-submarine warfare.

He received a PhD in economics from Birkbeck, University of London in 2011.

Bove has held teaching and research appointments at the University of Essex, the University of Genoa, the University of Naples Federico II, Ca' Foscari University of Venice and Sciences Po in Paris.

He has also been affiliated with the Centre for Economic Policy Research.

Research

Bove's research applies quantitative methods to questions in the political economy of conflict and security. His work has addressed civil–military relations, military expenditure, international migration, military interventions, terrorism, policing and United Nations peacekeeping.

His research has appeared in several peer-reviewed journals including the American Journal of Political Science, British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, The Journal of Politics, Journal of Development Economics, Journal of Economic Geography, World Development and American Economic Journal: Economic Policy.

Oil and military intervention In research with Kristian Skrede Gleditsch and Petros G. Sekeris, Bove examined the economic motivations behind third-party military intervention in civil wars. Their article, "Oil Above Water: Economic Interdependence and Third-party Intervention", was first published online in the Journal of Conflict Resolution in 2015 and appeared in print in 2016.

The study found that the probability of external military intervention increased when the country at war possessed substantial oil reserves, when competition among oil producers was limited and when the potential intervening country had greater demand for oil. while Bove and Sekeris discussed the findings in The Washington Post. The research was also covered by Newsweek. The research received attention during debate over the Trump administration's decision to restore transfers of surplus military equipment to police departments, including coverage in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and The Economist.

His research on police militarization was also discussed in The Guardian and Wired during the 2020 debate over the militarization of American police forces.

Migration and terrorism

Bove has also studied the relationship between international migration and terrorism. Research in this area was covered by The Washington Post in 2016 in connection with evidence concerning the relationship between immigration and terrorist activity.

Conscription and military recruitment Bove's recent research has examined military conscription, institutional trust and recruitment challenges in European armed forces. With Riccardo Di Leo and Marco Giani, he studied the effects of conscription on trust in public institutions in an article published in the American Journal of Political Science. The study found lower institutional trust among men drafted shortly before conscription was abolished than among comparable cohorts exempted afterward. Bove's work on conscription and military recruitment has also been covered by Euronews, including interviews on the revival of compulsory service and recruitment shortages across Europe.

ERC Advanced Grant

In June 2026, Bove was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for SOS – Short on Strength: The Military Recruitment Crisis in Europe, a research project hosted by the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca.

The project received nearly €2 million in funding through the European Union's Horizon Europe programme. It examines why European armed forces face difficulties recruiting and retaining personnel and includes comparative research across European countries on the demographic, socioeconomic and attitudinal factors associated with military service.

Bove's project was one of nineteen ERC Advanced Grants awarded to researchers based in Italy in the 2026 funding round.

Selected works

Book

Articles