Constraining Dictatorship: From Personalized Rule to Institutionalized Regimes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. xix + 256 pp. List of Abbreviations. List of Tables. List of Figures. References. Index. $39.99. Paper. ISBN: 978-1108792479 .

Meng Anne. Constraining Dictatorship: From Personalized Rule to Institutionalized Regimes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. xix + 256 pp. List of Abbreviations. List of Tables. List of Figures. References. Index. $39.99. Paper. ISBN: 978-1108792479.

In Constraining Dictatorship: From Personalized Rule to Institutionalized Regimes, Anne Meng argues that “autocratic regime institutionalization—the creation of rules and procedures that tie the leader’s hands by empowering other elites—is key to understanding patterns of regime durability in dictatorships” (3). Meng draws on a range of methodological approaches—including formal theory, large-n statistical analysis, and illustrative case studies—to explain why some authoritarian rulers are willing to adopt executive constraints while others are not. She then examines the effects of executive constraints on autocratic stability and leadership succession, finding that leaders who come into power relatively weak are more likely to adopt executive constraints. Leader strength also mediates the effect of regime institutionalization on regime stability: institutionalization positively affects stability for initially weak leaders but does not affect the stability of initially strong leaders. Meng also finds that the existence of constitutional succession procedures and the designation of a successor—two executive constraints that shift power from leaders to...