How to rig an election
Rather than crudely stuffing ballot boxes, autocrats will cheat in hundreds of less obvious ways
By Robert Guest
Men rise to great fortune “more through fraud than through force”, argued Niccolo Machiavelli, a 16th-century adviser to unscrupulous princes. Modern potentates can find similar advice in “How to Rig an Election”, a book by Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas. “In many countries around the world the art of retaining power has become the art of electoral manipulation,” argue the two academics (who, to be clear, do not approve).
Explore more
This article appeared in the International section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2024 under the headline “Distorting democracy”
Discover more
The World Ahead 2025
Ten business trends for 2025, and forecasts for 15 industries
A global round-up from The Economist Intelligence Unit
Superforecasters in 2025
What the “superforecasters” predict for major events in 2025
The experts at Good Judgment weigh in on the coming year
Obituary in 2025
The rings of Saturn will disappear in 2025
First observed by Galileo, this occurs twice every 29 years
By Invitation: Science & technology in 2025
Casey Handmer says solar power is changing the economics of energy
Large-scale production of synthetic fuel is now feasible, argues the founder of Terraform Industries
Science & technology in 2025
Space missions to watch in 2025
Humans may fly around the Moon, and robots will explore new frontiers