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

In Sudan’s protracted war, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces outmanoeuvred Abdelfattah Al-Burhan’s Armed Forces through sabotage, new weapons, and broader networks. But as regional actors and local militia hijack the war’s original power-struggle, frontlines and command chains shattered.

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing its severe implications not just for health systems worldwide. One striking political consequence has been renewed power concentration in the executive. There are signs of a global increase in this executive personalisation having occurred over the last 12 months.

How does political power become personalized? This special issue examines the gradual concentration of authority in chief executives across regime types, the mechanisms that weaken checks and collective decision-making, and why it matters for institutions, policymaking, and political accountability.

How do chief executives personalize power? In this paper we conceptualize the personalization of executive power based on observable processes initiated by the chief executive looking at personnel management, institutional engineering, and coercion.

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

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.

APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition 2024, Philadelphia Organisers: American Political Science Association Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

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.

ECPR General Conference 2024, University College Dublin, Dublin Dr. Martin Acheampong (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Speaker), Emilia Arellano (Speaker)

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.

Organiser: Institute of Advanced National Studies (IAEN) 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".

Research Conference Pandemics: Preparedness for Future Pandemics from a Global Perspective, DFG, Bonn Organisers: German Research Foundation Prof. Dr. Thomas Richter (Speaker), Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos (Speaker), Dr. David Kuehn (Speaker)

ECPR General Conference 2023, Charles University, Prague Organisers: European Consortium for Political Research Dr. Martin Acheampong (Speaker)

Dr. Martin Acheampong presents his paper "Personnel, Institutions, and Power: Revisiting the Concept of Political Personalization" (co-authored with Dr. David Kühn, Prof. Dr. Mariana Llanos, Dr. Thomas Richter and Dr. Esther Song) at the ECPR General Conference 2023 in Prague. Panel: "Personalisation and regime legitimacy in autocracies".

In Sudan’s protracted war, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo’s Rapid Support Forces outmanoeuvred Abdelfattah Al-Burhan’s Armed Forces through sabotage, new weapons, and broader networks. But as regional actors and local militia hijack the war’s original power-struggle, frontlines and command chains shattered.

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing its severe implications not just for health systems worldwide. One striking political consequence has been renewed power concentration in the executive. There are signs of a global increase in this executive personalisation having occurred over the last 12 months.