The Logic of Political Survival
The Logic of Political Survival by Bruce Bueno de Mesquitaby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith and Randolph M. Siverson and James D. Morrow
Shares rank 2 of 5 political science books by recommenders
People recommend it as a data-driven analysis of how leaders stay in power. One critic says current events contradict a claim it makes.
People recommend it as a data-driven analysis of how leaders stay in power. One critic says current events contradict a claim it makes.
5 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 4
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 4 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Offers a better political analysis
“a better analysis comes from the book Logic of Political Survival”
Comment from 3 Nov 2025 in “The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic US” Backed by data on polity outcomes
“have the data on how much better these polities do”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “Deutsche Bank becomes first foreign yuan clearing bank in Europe” Readers are big fans of it
“I have that book and am a big fan of it”
Comment from 4 Sep 2026 in “Top Pentagon Official Contracted Personal Lawyer to Handle Minerals Deal”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Some claims contradicted by current events
“current day events in USA clearly contradict this statement”
Comment from 4 Sep 2026 in “Top Pentagon Official Contracted Personal Lawyer to Handle Minerals Deal”
Other political science books people recommend
The four most recommended other political science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policyby John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt and Ignacio Morera de la Val Antón and Francesc Massana Cabré | 5 | 1 | 83% | 6 | — | — |
| The Logic of Political Survivalby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith and Randolph M. Siverson and James D. MorrowThis page | 4 | 1 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
| What's the Matter with Kansas?by Thomas Frank and Mireya Hernández Pozuelo and Slavoj Žižek | 4 | 1 | 80% | 4 | — | — |
| The Dictator's Handbookby Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith | 4 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Network Propagandaby Yochai Benkler and Robert Faris and Hal Roberts | 2 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 5 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I have that book and am a big fan of it”
“current day events in USA clearly contradict this statement”
“have the data on how much better these polities do”
“a better analysis comes from the book Logic of Political Survival”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.