When and why do authoritarian regimes hold referendums? Drawing on an original dataset of referendums held in the 15 post-Soviet successor states since 1992, we unpack and theorise the differences among authoritarian referendums, and assess the conditions under which rulers put issues to a public vote. The paper extends the growing literature on formal political institutions in non-democracies, which has so far focussed on parties, parliaments, and elections.
