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

Head

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Lead Research Fellow / Co-Leader of the GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies (ad interim)

Dr. David Kuehn

Senior Research Fellow / Coordinator GIGA Forum

Dr. Thomas Richter

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

Research Questions

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?

Contribution to International Research

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.

Research Design and Methods

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

Evidence shows a growing trend of chief executives personalising power in autocracies and democracies. Yet, scholarly focus remains siloed according to regime type. This Working Paper presents an overarching framework on the “Personalisation of Executive Power,” identifying the involved mechanisms.

Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos

Dr. David Kuehn

Dr. Thomas Richter

Dr. Martin Acheampong

Dr. Esther Song

Emilia Arellano

GIGA Focus Africa | 1/2024

Ten Things to Watch in Africa in 2024

Democracy will remain strained in Africa, with crucial elections in 2024. Conflict risks may arise alongside the further waning of Western influence. Economic growth will continue, but also structural socio-economic challenges too. Western policymakers should address migration and decarbonisation.

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 Africa | 5/2023

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

Military coups in the Sahel countries have shaken the foundations of Europe’s foreign policy towards the region. Amidst the growing influence of Russia, how should European governments position themselves?

Dr. Malte Lierl

Research Fellow / Research Team Spokesperson

GIGA Focus Global | 3/2023

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

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Asia and Latin America mobilised their armed forces for a broad range of related support activities. However, this military participation occurring in the two regions, even where extensive, did not necessarily threaten democracy and human rights.

Dr. David Kuehn

Prof. Dr. Aurel Croissant

Prof. Dr. David Pion-Berlin

Ariam Macias-Weller

Institute of Advanced National Studies | 23/01/2024

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

Organiser: Institute of Advanced National Studies Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

In collaboration with esteemed professors and legal scholars, we delved into the project "COVID-19 and executive personalisation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa region".

Emilia Arellano

Research Fellow

Conference | 15/11/2021