ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the conditions under which elections contribute to political conflict in authoritarianism-specifically leadership turnover and popular protests. It then describes the dilemma that political leaders face at the ballot box. The chapter also theoretically and empirically endogenizes the authoritarian leader's electoral manipulation calculations, taking the costs and benefits of authoritarian elections into account. It further refers to citizen's voluntary support for the political leader through economic and policy performance as the leader's "mobilization power". The second, "dirty" part is the total number of votes resulting from various kinds of electoral manipulation. The variable obtained from Hyde and Marinov includes all types of post-election leadership change including turnover brought by hereditary successions and nomination of the next leader by the current ruler before an election. Finally, the chapter's theory and empirical analysis suggests that elections are a double-edged sword for authoritarian leaders.
