Professors Nic Cheeserman and Brian Klass state at the beginning of their book that ‘there are more elections than ever before, and yet the world is becoming less democratic’. This podcast discusses their 2018 book, "How to Rig An Election" which has just been released in paperback form.

Contrary to what is commonly believed, authoritarian leaders who agree to hold elections are generally able to remain in power longer than autocrats who refuse to allow the populace to vote. In this engaging and provocative book, Cheeseman and Klaas expose the limitations of national elections as a means of promoting democratization, and reveal the six essential strategies that dictators use to undermine the electoral process in order to guarantee victory for themselves. Based on their firsthand experiences as election watchers and their hundreds of interviews with presidents, prime ministers, diplomats, election officials, and conspirators, this podcasts discusses their documented instances of election rigging while suggesting new solutions for protecting democracy from authoritarian subversion.

Nic Cheeseman is professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham and founding editor of the Oxford Encyclopedia of African Politics. Brian Klaas is assistant professor of global politics at University College London and a weekly columnist for the Washington Post.

How to Rig and Election: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300204438/how-rig-election

Brian Klass' podcast Power Corrupts: https://www.powercorruptspodcast.com/