'Londregan's book poses a powerful question: to what extent does a quasi-democratic constitution crafted by a military government constrain a liberal electorate from enacting laws consistent with their preferences? In answering this question, Londregan combines state-of-the-art methodology with a deep understanding of the Chilean case. The scintillating analysis of legislative politics in the final chapter is proof positive that high-tech statistical methods are a tool, not a barrier, to compelling narrative. I recommend this book to all comparativists.' David Latin, Stanford University

• Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Ideology and valence; 2. Accident and force; 3. Legislative institutions in the constitution of 1980; 4. Roll-call votes and senate committees; 5. The Labor committee; 6. The Education committee; 7. The Constitution committee; 8. Legislative politics and Chile's transition toward democracy; Conclusion; Appendix: estimating preferences from voting records; Bibliography; Index.