| Summary: | This thesis is focused on the question -of how authoritarian leaders remain in power. The main idea is that non-democratic leaders may use repression as a key electoral tool. Chapter 1 develops a model where an incumbent leader faces electoral competition from the opposition. The leader may seek to use violence, produced by the military, in order to improve his chances of re-election. The core of the chapter is the analysis of a collusive equilibrium in which the leader offers a bribe to the military and the latter responds by producing politically motivated violence. The collusive equilibrium gives rise to several policy implications. For instance, higher foreign aid donations contribute to the political survival of authoritarian leaders.
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