This dataset and the associated data wrangling and analysis code scripts form a core component of a research project focused on uncovering the relationship between external dependence and strategic shifts in authoritarian legitimation strategies. By successfully integrating two novel datasets —the Foreign Bilateral Influence Capacity Index and V-Dem's Regime Legitimation Expert Survey (RLES) Indicators— the project considerably broadens the scope for large-N studies previously unattainable. Through the analysis of panel data on legitimation strategies in authoritarian regimes from 1960 to 2010, I provide empirical support for the proposed theory that increasing external dependence prompts leaders to transition from ideological to pragmatic legitimation strategies, while accounting for other factors potentially influencing strategic adaptation. The ‘Legitimation Amid Dependence Dataset’ thus makes a significant empirical contribution that can be diversely implemented for other research projects in the realm of authoritarian governance.