Examining the role of personalist political parties, or parties that exist primarily to further their leader's career as opposed to promote a specific policy platform, and using original data capturing levels of personalism, this book shows that the rise of personalist parties around the globe is facilitating the decline of democracy.

Erica Frantz is an associate professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. She specializes in authoritarian politics and the dynamics of political change. She has published seven books, 17 journal articles, and a wide array of policy reports and op-ed pieces.
Andrea Kendall-Taylor is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Transatlantic Security Program at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. She works on national security challenges facing the United States and Europe, focusing on threats to democracy, Russia, and the state of the Transatlantic alliance.
Joseph Wright is a professor of Political Science at the Pennsylvania State University. His research examines how global and international forces shape the prospects of democratization. This research has received external funding from numerous sources, including the National Science Foundation, the Minerva Research Initiative, and private foundations.

• 1: Introduction


• 2: What are Personalist Parties?


• 3: The Argument


• 4: The Evidence


• 5: Institutional Pathways


• 6: Societal Pathways


• 7: Personalist Politics, Democracy, and the Path Ahead


• Bibliography