How to Rig an Election

Book excerpt: In How to Rig an Election, Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas show how elections enable authoritarian leaders to hold on to power, revealing the reasons behind this seeming paradox. They develop the idea of a 'dictator's toolbox' to uncover the six main strategies - including gerrymandering, vote buying and ballot-box stuffing - that enable authoritarian leaders to undermine the electoral process and guarantee victory. By setting up flawed elections, leaders gain the benefits of holding elections, such as greater legitimacy and international financial support, without the costs. This engaging and provocative book draws on global examples of election rigging, from Azerbaijan and Belarus to India, the United States and Zimbabwe. How to Rig an Election reveals the limitations of holding elections as a means to promote democratization, and provides new ideas about how democracy can be better protected from authoritarian subversion.