The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics

Political scientists Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith argue that all leaders, from dictators to democrats, follow the same basic rule: stay in power by keeping a small group of key supporters happy. The size of that coalition, they show, explains much about how countries and companies are run. Using examples from tyrants, presidents and corporate boards, the authors explain why foreign aid often fails, why corruption persists and why bad policies can be good politics.

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Balaji Srinivasan: “There's a funny kind of thing on this which I think is called The Dictator's Handbook.”