Review

"Dr. Blaydes seeks to answer the question, 'Why do authoritarian rulers like Egypt's Hosni Mubarak, hold elections?' Her research examines how the regime in Egypt sustains its undemocratic rule with elections. She argues that elections represent a Pareto improvement for all relevant actors in Egyptian politics - the regime, citizens, and the political elite, including rent-seeking political entrepreneurs, ideological opposition and the military as well as external actors. This book is likely to shift the dominant Egyptian paradigm from a lingering fascination with the cultural structuring of social movements toward a reconsideration of political rationality in unexpected places."

-Leonard Binder, University of California, Los Angeles

"Political scientists are finally returning sustained and rigorous attention to the ways that authoritarian regimes of various stripes operate. As they do so, they will find Lisa Blaydes's Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak's Egypt singularly useful. Blaydes deftly employs Egypt's electoral system as an avenue for understanding how the regime operates, how citizens (both rich and poor) experience the political system and act politically, and how real and potential opposition act in the constricted channels provided. Elections in authoritarian systems are not anomalous; they have become the norm. Blaydes helps us understand how balloting fits into authoritarian politics."

-Nathan J. Brown, The George Washington University

"Blaydes explores the mechanisms by which competitive parliamentary elections help sustain authoritarianism in contemporary Egypt. Competitive elections perform multiple functions, from managing distributional conflict among the elite to mapping the spatial distribution of regime supporters. Blaydes moves fluidly from the perspective of the regime and the rent-seeking elite to that of citizens, both supporters and regime opponents, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of participating in elections to a powerless parliament. Elections and Distributive Politics combines thematic breadth, insightful analysis, and methodological rigor; all students of authoritarian dynamics will find valuable lessons in this important book."

-David Waldner, University of Virginia

"A wonderfully incisive analysis based on new data and judicious personal observation, this is the first comprehensive answer to the puzzle of why the Egyptian regime spends so much effort on the organization of elections without choices. Blaydes makes an expert contribution to the study of the political behavior of authoritarian regimes. If you read one book on contemporary Egyptian politics, read this."

-Roger Owen, Harvard University

Book Description

Although it would seem that elections matter little in authoritarian countries, elections are not only common in authoritarian regimes but also very useful for the dictator in efforts to keep power. This book examines the significance of elections in authoritarian Egypt.