German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

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COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region

  • In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, political leaders reacted by containment measures that, next to combating the spread of the pandemic, also presented a window of opportunity to bolster executives’ personal grasp on power. Personalization of power has been particularly worrying in the Global South where constraints on the chief executives were often already weak prior to the pandemic. This project assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the personalization of executive power in 36 countries of the Global South.
    DFG, 2021-2024

    Team

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Research Fellow

    Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo

    Research Fellow

    Leitung

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim)

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Lead Research Fellow / Head of Research Programme "Accountability and Participation"

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    Forschungsfragen

    The project will answer the three following research questions:
    (1) What is personalization of executive power; how can we operationalize and identify it empirically across regime types?
    (2) What were/are the characteristics of the personalization of executive power before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the selected countries of the Global South?
    (3) What explains the differences and similarities in the personalization of executive power across countries and over these periods, and what role does the COVID-19 pandemic play in that?

    Beitrag zu internationaler Forschung

    By answering these questions, the project contributes to three bodies of academic scholarship: the burgeoning literature on democratic backsliding and autocratization; the emerging research that describes and explains the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on political developments across the world; and the diverse contributions from area studies that have long tracked the patterns and processes of the personalization of executive power in individual countries. In addition to the scholarly contribution, the project’s results will be crucially relevant for decision-makers, civil society actors, and citizens concerned about the recent trend of executive personalization and autocratization.

    Forschungsdesign und Methoden

    This project pursues four research objectives. First, we develop a concept of the personalization of executive power that is applicable across regime types and different world regions. Second, we construct a theory of the personalization of executive power during the COVID-19 pandemic. Third, we collect empirical data on the personalization of executive power before and during the COVID-19 pandemic across 36 systematically selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA region) and create the Personalization of Executive Power (PEXPower) dataset. Fourth, we draw on the PEXPower dataset and accompanying qualitative data to describe the impact of executive personalization before and during the COVID-19 pandemic across three policy areas in each country: public health, internal security, and economic policy. We identify differences and similarities across and within countries in our sample through a systematic, multi-method research design that integrates qualitative and quantitative methods.

    Projektbezogene Publikationen

    Infografik | 04.2025

    COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region: A Dashboard

    This dashboard examines how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced executive personalization in 32 countries. Each bubble represents a country and its number of personalization events. Select one or two, then use the buttons to explore the events and their underlying mechanisms.

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo

    Eduardo Valencia

    GIGA Working Papers | 01.2024

    Personnel, Institutions, and Power: Revisiting the Concept of Executive Personalisation

    Es zeigt sich ein wachsender Trend zur Personalisierung der Macht in Auto- und Demokratien. Der wissenschaftliche Fokus bleibt je nach Regimetyp isoliert. In diesem Working Paper wird ein übergreifender Rahmen für die „Personalisierung der Exekutivgewalt“ vorgestellt und beteiligte Mechanismen identifiziert.

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Dr. Esther Song

    Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo

    GIGA Focus Afrika | 1/2024

    Ten Things to Watch in Africa in 2024

    Die Demokratie in Afrika bleibt im Wahljahr 2024 unter Druck. Konfliktrisiken könnten mit dem schwindenden westlichen Einfluss zunehmen. Das Wirtschaftswachstum wird anhalten, aber auch strukturelle Probleme bestehen bleiben. Die westliche Afrikapolitik muss sich der Migration und Dekarbonisierung stellen.

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

    Dr. Julia Grauvogel

    Korea Observer | 12.2023

    Personalization of Executive Power After COVID-19 Onset in South Korea

    How has COVID-19 affected the personalization of executive power in South Korea? To answer this question, we draw on the conceptual framework of personalization outlined in the literature concerning democracies and autocracies.

    Dr. Esther Song

    Associate

    Ines Miral

    King’s College London

    GIGA Focus Afrika | 5/2023

    Siding with Societies: How Europe Can Reposition Itself in the Sahel

    Militärputsche in den Sahelländern haben die Grundlagen der europäischen Außenpolitik gegenüber der Region erschüttert. Wie sollten sich die europäischen Regierungen angesichts des wachsenden Einflusses Russlands positionieren?

    Dr. Malte Michael Lierl

    Associate

    Weitere Inhalte zum Thema

    Thriving or Thwarted? Executive Personalization and Constraints amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Konferenz | 03.04.2025 - 06.04.2025

    Thriving or Thwarted? Executive Personalization and Constraints amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Annual MPSA Conference 2025, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago Organisation: Midwest Political Science Association Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo (Vortragende:r), Dr. Martin Acheampong (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Vortragende:r), Dr. David Kuehn (Vortragende:r)

    Emilia Arellano presents the paper "Thriving or Thwarted? Executive Personalization and Constraints amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic" co-authored by her and GIGA researchers Dr. Martin Acheampong, Dr. David Kuehn, Prof. Dr Mariana Llanos, Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter.

    Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Dr. David Kuehn

    The Hour of the Executive: Conceptualizing and Mapping the Personalization of Executive Power during the COVID-19 Pandemic 

    Konferenz | 05.09.2024 - 08.09.2024

    The Hour of the Executive: Conceptualizing and Mapping the Personalization of Executive Power during the COVID-19 Pandemic 

    APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2024, Philadelphia Organisation: American Political Science Association Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo (Vortragende:r)

    Emilia Arellano presents the paper "The Hour of the Executive: Conceptualizing and Mapping the Personalization of Executive Power during the COVID-19 Pandemic" co-authored by her and GIGA researchers Dr. Martin Acheampong, Dr. David Kuehn, Prof. Dr Mariana Llanos, Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter.

    Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo

    Research Fellow

    Thriving or Thwarted? Examining Chief Executives and their Constraining Counterparts amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

    Konferenz | 12.08.2024 - 15.08.2024

    Thriving or Thwarted? Examining Chief Executives and their Constraining Counterparts amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

    ECPR General Conference 2024, University College Dublin, Dublin Dr. Martin Acheampong (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Vortragende:r), Dr. David Kuehn (Vortragende:r), Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo (Vortragende:r)

    Dr. Martin Acheampong presents the paper "The Hour of the Executive: Conceptualizing and Mapping the Personalization of Executive Power during the COVID-19 Pandemic" co-authored by him and GIGA researchers Emilia Arellano, Dr. David Kuehn, Prof. Dr Mariana Llanos, Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter.

    Dr. Martin Acheampong

    Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

    Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter

    Dr. David Kuehn

    Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo

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