Mariana Llanos / David Kuehn / Thomas Richter / Martin Acheampong / Andrea Emilia Arellano Castillo / Eduardo Valencia

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

Infographic | 2025


  • 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 32 countries of the Global South.

    Click on one or two of the 32 bubbles (each representing a studied country) to explore personalization events. Then, press on the colored buttons, each a personalization Mechanism, to learn more about the personalization events.

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    From Personalization to Autocratization? Executive Power Dynamics Across Political Regimes

    Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) | 09/10/2025

    From Personalization to Autocratization? Executive Power Dynamics Across Political Regimes

    Organiser: Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Speaker), Dr. Martin Acheampong (Speaker), Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

    Mariana Llanos and Thomas Richter presented results from the DFG-funded project "COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region" at the 1st Annual Interdisciplinary WZB Conference.

    From Personalization to Autocratization? Executive Power Dynamics Across Political Regimes

    Conference | 11/09/2025 - 14/09/2025

    From Personalization to Autocratization? Executive Power Dynamics Across Political Regimes

    APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2025, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver Organisers: American Political Science Association Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Speaker), Dr. Martin Acheampong (Speaker), Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

    Thomas Richter presented results from the DFG-funded project "COVID-19 and Executive Personalization in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and the MENA Region" at the APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Vancouver.

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