There are currently more than 50 countries worldwide, whose populations live under authoritarian rule.

Authoritarianism is a political system characterised by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting.

Political scientists have created many typologies describing variations of authoritarian forms of government, and Authoritarian regimes may be either autocratic or oligarchic, based upon the rule of a party or the military.

States that have a blurred boundary between democracy and authoritarianism have sometimes been characterised as "hybrid democracies", "hybrid regimes" or "competitive authoritarian" states.

But, are these really working?

We've all seen Russia's authoritarian rule prompt the invasion of Ukraine, as well as ruin its own economy. Common sense then dictates (no pun intended) that this model is now defunct, and needs replacing.

However, the very nature of the State precludes populations from changing to a democratic society.

So how do we fix it?