A review by jimtwombly
The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics by Alastair Smith, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

4.0

A while back I tried reading the more formal work of these authors and two others - The Logic of Political Survival. As the BDM and Smith note, that book was a dense read with a great deal of math. This book covers the same material in a much more approachable way for those of us not into the use of math in formal theory. Having tried the earlier volume and given up, this work is a much more accessible portal into "selectorate theory." It is still not an easy lift for those without some background in political science, but it does a great job of laying out their theory in an understandable way. I may even make use of some of the material in teaching Introduction to Politics in the fall.