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

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

Emilia Arellano

Research Fellow

Leitung

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Leitungsteam GIGA Institut für Lateinamerika-Studien (interim)

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Koordinator GIGA Forum

Dr. Thomas Richter

Lead Research Fellow / Leitung Forschungsschwerpunkt "Politische Verantwortlichkeit und Partizipation"

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.

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

Dr. Thomas Richter

Dr. Martin Acheampong

Dr. Esther Song

Emilia Arellano

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 Lierl

Research Fellow / Sprecher Forschungsteam

GIGA Focus Global | 3/2023

Military Involvement in COVID-19 Responses: Comparing Asia and Latin America

Während der COVID-19-Pandemie haben viele Länder in Asien und Lateinamerika das Militär für ein breites Spektrum von Aktivitäten mobilisiert. Dieser GIGA-Focus zeigt, dass die Beteiligung des Militärs an der Pandemiebekämpfung nicht unbedingt eine Bedrohung für Demokratie und Menschenrechte darstellte.

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

Ariam Macias-Weller

Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales | 23.01.2024

Colloquium on the Project "COVID-19 and the Personalization of the Executive Power"

Organisation: Instituto de Altos Estudios Nacionales Emilia Arellano (Vortragende:r)

In Zusammenarbeit mit angesehenen Professoren und Rechtswissenschaftlern haben wir uns mit dem Projekt "COVID-19 und die Personalisierung von Führungskräften in Afrika südlich der Sahara, Asien, Lateinamerika und der Region Naher Osten und Nordafrika" beschäftigt.

Emilia Arellano

Research Fellow

Konferenz | 15.11.2021

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

Research Conference Pandemics: Preparedness for Future Pandemics from a Global Perspective, DFG, Bonn Organisation: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Dr. Thomas Richter (Vortragende:r), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Vortragende:r), Dr. David Kuehn (Vortragende:r)

Dr. Thomas Richter

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Dr. David Kuehn

GIGA Forum | 24.02.2021

Exekutive ohne Grenzen: Wie Regierungschefs ihre Macht ausbauen

Exekutive ohne Grenzen: Wie Regierungschefs ihre Macht ausbauen, Online event, Berlin Organisation: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Dr. Julia Grauvogel (Moderator:in), Dr. Thomas Richter (Panelbeitragende:r), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Panelbeitragende:r), Prof. Dr. Christian Göbel (Panelbeitragende:r)

Stretching Boundaries: How Chief Executives Expand their Power

Dr. Julia Grauvogel

Dr. Thomas Richter

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Prof. Dr. Christian Göbel

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

Team

Leitung

Forschungsfragen

Beitrag zu internationaler Forschung

Forschungsdesign und Methoden

Projektbezogene Publikationen

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

Ten Things to Watch in Africa in 2024

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

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

Military Involvement in COVID-19 Responses: Comparing Asia and Latin America

Weitere Inhalte zum Thema

Colloquium on the Project "COVID-19 and the Personalization of the Executive Power"

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

Exekutive ohne Grenzen: Wie Regierungschefs ihre Macht ausbauen

Benachrichtigungen

Soziale Medien