Bridling Dictators: Rules and Authoritarian Politics

· Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Bruce Mann
Audiobook
17 hr 56 min
Unabridged
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More
Want a 1 hr 52 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline. 
Add

About this audiobook

Galtieri, Lukashenka, and Putin are some of the dictators whose untrammeled personal power has been seen as typical of the dog-eat-dog nature of leadership in authoritarian political systems. This book provides an innovative argument that, rather than being characterized by permanent insecurity, fear, and arbitrariness, the leadership of dictatorships is actually governed by a series of rules. The rules are identified, and their operation is shown in a range of different types of authoritarian regime. The operation of the rules is explained in ten different countries across five different regime types: the Soviet Union and China as communist single party regimes; Argentina, Brazil, and Chile as military regimes; electoral authoritarian Malaysia and Mexico; personalist dictatorships in Belarus and Russia; and the Gulf monarchies. Through close analysis of the way leadership functions in these different countries, the book shows how the rules have worked in different institutional settings. It also shows how the power distribution in authoritarian oligarchies is related to the rules. Bridling Dictators transforms our understanding of how authoritarian systems work.

About the author

Graeme Gill is professor emeritus in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney. His books include Collective Leadership in Soviet Politics, Bridling Dictators, and Revolution and Terror.

Bruce Mann is an award-winning voice artist and actor. He was born in the UK and now lives in California. His awards include several AudioFile Earphones Awards, two Audie nominations, and an AudioFile Excellence Award.

Rate this audiobook

Tell us what you think.

Listening information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.