Can foreign capital empower dictatorship? This groundbreaking book develops a unified theory that links three prominent forms of international capital to the endurance of dictatorships.International capital empowers governments to finance two key instruments of non-democratic politics: repression and patronage.The Perils of International Capital uses theory, case studies, and cross-national statistical evidence to demonstrate causal effects between foreign capital and authoritarian politics.These finding are crucial to scholars and policymakers alike, as they call for a recalibration of the welfare effects associated with greater financial globalization.Ahmed reveals that, while foreign capital may improve economic development, it can tragically hinder democratic governance in the process.