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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.