Short answers, pulled from the story.
Political scientist Juan Linz defined authoritarianism in his 1964 work An Authoritarian Regime: Spain by four distinct qualities including limited political pluralism, political legitimacy based on emotional appeals, minimal political mobilization, and the creation of ill-defined executive powers.
Authoritarian constitutionalism describes authoritarian dominant-party states that impose sanctions against political dissidents and hold reasonably free elections while ensuring the regime prevails, whereas liberal constitutionalism sets direct limits on executive authority to protect liberty.
The Chinese Communist Party has maintained unusually resilient authoritarian rule due to four factors including the norm-bound nature of its succession politics, meritocratic promotion of political elites, functional specialization of institutions, and the establishment of institutions for political participation.
The Arab Spring arose in December 2010 starting in Tunisia and spreading to Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain, resulting in toppled regimes in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt while other countries experienced civil wars or insurgencies.
The April 2025 Bright Line Watch survey of more than 500 U.S.-based political scientists found that the vast majority believe the United States is moving from liberal democracy to a form of authoritarianism.