The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics is a 2011 non-fiction book by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, published by the company PublicAffairs.

[3] Moynihan added that the conclusions the book makes originate from the fields of economics, history, and political science, leading him to call the authors "polymathic".

[3] Mesquita and Smith, with other authors, previously wrote about the "selectorate" theory in the academic book The Logic of Political Survival.

[6] Martin Patriquin of Maclean's wrote that the authors "make a frightfully good argument by turning an old cliché on its ear.

"[2] Ed Howker of The Guardian stated that the book assumes all politicians act rationally, and that its attitude was so cynical "that it made me flinch on more than one occasion.

"[6] Theodore McLauchlin of the University of Montreal concluded that it is a "serviceable introduction" and "bracing book that does indeed connect the dots across a wide array of political phenomena.