Why would you call them authoritarian when you can just call them fascist?
It’s a square-rectangle situation in my view. All fascists are authoritarian bit not all authoritarians are fascist
Okay but bow is authoritarian useful? Can you find a definition that applies to Vietnam, Cuba, China, etc, that doesn’t also apply to the governments of NATO countries like the US, France, England, etc?
I think Juan Linz created a decent criteria. It’s useful as a descriptor of how much personal liberty a person residing in a particular state can assert and how easily a person can petition their government without fear of reprisal.