Bruce Bueno de Mesquita

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, political scientist and game-theory expert, explains campaigning as strategy rather than persuasion. He contrasts rhetorical persuasion with heresthetic coalition-building. He discusses Reagan reframing the Cold War, Yeltsin reshaping Russian politics, the persistence of negative campaigning, and why principled candidates often lose.

Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Professor of Politics at NYU and Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, discusses the incentives facing dictators and democratic leaders. He applies his insights to foreign aid, the Middle East, Venezuela, China's potential for evolution to a democratic system, and Cuba. He emphasizes the importance of freedom of assembly and freedom of the press for true democracy.

Guest Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, a political scientist, discusses his latest book on the invention of power. Topics include the impact of the Concordat of Verms on secular rulers and the church, wealth disparities in Europe, winning coalitions and power dynamics within the Catholic Church, future research recommendations, game theory models for power dynamics, the concept of a 'cut point' for democracy, and the stability of different countries and theories of stable democracies.