Jorge Vargas Cullell
Costa Rican. Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Notre Dame (USA), specialization in comparative politics. Master’s in Peace Studies from the same university. Licenciatura & Bachelor degree in Sociology from the University of Costa Rica.
From 2012 to 2025 he served as Director of the Estado de la Nación Program, a research center sponsored by the National Council of Rectors and the Ombudsman’s Office of Costa Rica. He (co-)directed the publication of 30 annual Estado de la Nación Reports, 1 Citizen Audit on the Quality of Democracy, 7 Central American Reports on Human Development, 10 Reports on the State of Education in Costa Rica, 5 Reports on the State of Justice, and oversaw the Hipatia platform on Science, Technology and Innovation.
His research areas are comparative studies on democracy, state reform, and citizen attitudes. He has been a consultant for international organizations such as the IDB, UNDP, UNICEF, and USAID. Weekly columnist for the newspaper “La Nación” from 2006 to 2026.
Vargas Cullell has experience in public policymaking. Member of the Evaluation Commission of the Development Banking System (2015, 2022); member of the Commission for the Evaluation of IDB Loan to Costa Rica for Infrastructure (2012, 2013). Founding director of the Costa Rican Housing Subsidy Fund (1987-1990).
He has published numerous articles in specialized journals and books. Recent publications:
2023. “Guatemala’s Inchoate Stateness” with Esteban Durán. In: Sánchez-Sibony, Omar (Ed.). Guatemala In The XXI Century: Stateness, Institutions, And Non-State Actors. London: Rowman & Littlefield.
2022. “Condenados a innovar: Costa Rica y el mundo distópico de la post pandemia.” Revista de Filosofía de la Universidad de Costa Rica, 159 (January 2022).
2020. “Ensayo corto sobre el problemático presente e incierto futuro de la democracia representativa.” Revista Derecho Electoral, First Semester: 31. https://doi.org/10.35242/RDE_2020_31
2020. “La democracia amenazada.” With: Felipe Alpizar. In: Alfaro, Ronald, ed. Elecciones 2018 en Costa Rica: la democracia amenazada. San José: CIEP-UCR, PEN-CONARE.
2019. Elections and the Muddled Present of the Latin American Democracies. Latin American Research Review 54(3), pp. 784–794. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25222/larr.893
2018. “Democratização e qualidade da democracia.” In: Rodríguez, Marta (ed.). Governança, qualidade da democracia e políticas públicas. Rio de Janeiro: Editora UFRJ, pp. 53–86.
He has been the recipient of national and international distinctions, both in his individual capacity and as part of the Estado de la Nación Program team.