Alastair Smith

The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith is a canonical work on political science that challenges conventional wisdom. The authors begin with a striking assertion: leaders do whatever is necessary to stay in power. They are indifferent to the "national interest" or the welfare of their subjects unless compelled to consider them. Newly updated to reflect...

For eighteen years, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith have been part of a team revolutionising the study of politics by turning conventional wisdom on its head. They start from a single assertion: Leaders do whatever keeps them in power. They don't care about the "national interest" or even their subjects, unless they have to. This clever and accessible...