Includes bibliographical references (p. 233-250) and index.

The logic of electoral authoritarianism / Andreas Schedler -- Methodological challenges -- Drawing boundaries: how to craft intermediate regime categories / Gerardo L. Munck -- Observer paradoxes: how to assess electoral manipulation / Jonathan Hartlyn and Jennifer McCoy -- Regime and opposition dynamics -- Elite ruptures: when do ruling parties split? / Joy Langston -- Tipping games: when do opposition parties coalesce? / Nicolas van de Walle -- The electoral battlefield -- Manipulative skills: how do rulers control the electoral arena? / William Case -- After defeat: when do rulers steal elections? / Mark R. Thompson and Philipp Kuntz -- Armed arbiters: when does the military step into the electoral arena? / John F. Clark -- Tragic protest: why do opposition parties boycott elections? / Staffan I. Lindberg -- Shifting power relations -- Authoritarian failure: how does state weakness strengthen electoral competition? / Lucan A. Way -- Creative constitutions: how do parliamentary powers shape the electoral arena? / M. Steven Fish -- Linkage and leverage: how do international factors change domestic balances of power? / Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way -- Conclusion -- Beyond electoral authoritarianism: the spectrum of nondemocratic regimes / Richard Snyder.