Dictator's

Though "The Dictator's Handbook" contains many points that are common-sensical—of course government transfer payments ensure voter loyalty—the pithy volume unpacks these political truisms, challenging readers to apply them to contemporaneous politics.

It's Good to Be Boss Michael Moynihan 2011

Michael Moynihan discusses the book "The Dictator's Handbook" on how autocrats stay in power.

It's Good to Be Boss Michael Moynihan 2011

While it might seem intuitively true that clearing balance sheets helps poor countries, "The Dictator's Handbook" suggests that pardoning debt obligations tends to entrench authoritarian leaders and retard the development of democracy.

It's Good to Be Boss Michael Moynihan 2011

To political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, the authors of "The Dictator's Handbook"—a lucidly written, shrewdly argued meditation on how democrats and dictators preserve political authority—it's not only unsurprising that politicians craft legislation with an eye toward re-election but also deeply rational.

It's Good to Be Boss Michael Moynihan 2011

In their new book, The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics, political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith demonstrate through quantitative methods how dictators and democrats alike act for one reason and one reason alone: to ensure their political survival.

Matthew Smith: In Burma, Political Survival Means Doing the Right Thing, for Now Matthew Smith 2011

The most fascinating chapter in "The Dictator's Handbook" concerns the rewards that governments provide other governments.

It's Good to Be Boss Michael Moynihan 2011

Paul Collier's "The Dictator's Handbook," is truly excellent.

EconLog: May 2009 Archives 2009

Paul Collier's "The Dictator's Handbook," is truly excellent.

EconLog: Political Economy Archives 2009

Paul Collier's "The Dictator's Handbook," is truly excellent.

The Dictator's Handbook: Read It, Bryan Caplan | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009

The Dictator's Shadow "asks the right questions:" Was Pinochet necessary?

Overthrowing Pinochet 2008