Rachel Beatty Riedl's Authoritarian Origins of Democratic Party Systems in Africa represents one of the most important contributions to the study of African politics in recent memory. Meticulously researched and theoretically innovative, the book is essential reading for those seeking to comprehend the character and dynamics of political life in Africa's democratic societies.

The focus of Riedl's research is party system institutionalisation (PSI) in Africa's democracies. Challenging conventional understandings that see PSI as reflective of factors such as social divisions or institutional design, Riedl argues that varying levels of PSI have their roots in the authoritarian era, specifically the power accumulation strategies of authoritarian rulers. Where rulers developed robust ties with local elites, they entered transition eras with substantial support bases intact. This allowed them to more effectively manage transition processes, prevail in founding elections, and establish the legal frameworks, organisational models, and normative contours within which party development occurred. The result has been high PSI during the democratic era. Conversely, where authoritarian leaders attempted to supplant or substitute the power of local elites, those leaders found themselves lacking firm bases of support, leaving a power vacuum at the time of transition. This then created a more open and unstructured environment during the transition and into the democratic era, leading to lower levels of PSI.

Riedl constructs her argument in a systematic and convincing manner, utilising cross-national statistical analysis, richly textured comparative analyses of the experiences of Ghana, Senegal, Zambia and Benin, and investigation of subnational patterns within those countries. She begins her study by soundly refuting alternative explanations for party system development in Africa. Consistent with her framework, her statistical analysis reveals that the single strongest predictor of PSI is the percentage of legislative seats captured by the dominant party in founding elections – a measure of the extent of incumbent power at the time of transitions. In turn, the central analytical chapters offer comparative investigation of her four case studies. Regimes in Senegal and Ghana adroitly incorporated local elites into authoritarian power structures, while those in Zambia and Benin relied on different strategies of power consolidation. Such different ‘modes of authoritarian power’ shaped the varying capacities of incumbents facing democratisation pressures. As her data show, political elites were much more supportive of incumbents in Senegal and Ghana during and after transition processes. With firm bases of local support, leaders in these countries could manage democratic transitions in ways that facilitated their dominance in founding elections. Initial patterns characterising party systems have then endured owing to ‘isomorphic’ pressures that perpetuate their central attributes over time. In this regard, Riedl's illumination of the mimetic forces (referring to the ways that incumbent parties model organisational strategies for other parties) and the normative pressures (referring to the initial structures of competition and the expectations surrounding them) that shape party system durability is especially insightful.

There is much to celebrate about this book. For one, Riedl is offering powerful and novel insight into the ways that authoritarian legacies shape key dynamics in Africa's democratic societies. The argument, and the evidence to support it, reveals that PSI has deep roots in the informal practices and strategies of authoritarian leaders vis-à-vis local power-brokers. No work to date has traced these specific kinds of linkages. Beyond this, as other research has demonstrated the importance of party systems for political and economic outcomes, the book offers insights that may help us to comprehend the deep roots of a wider array of concerns.

Finally, Riedl offers a model of meticulous and conscientious research – one that most could only aspire to. Her case selection, for example, maximises analytical leverage, allowing her to isolate and illuminate the importance of her key variable of interest. Drawing from her field research – which included interviews and focus groups with political elites at the national and regional levels in each country – Riedl marshals an impressive amount of data. These allow her to very effectively substantiate her claims about varying levels of PSI and their roots and add incredible richness to the analysis. The end result is an unqualified success.