Democracies can be quite difficult, as different people have different agendas along with having different objectives and everyone of age has the vote. So that, compromises are inevitably going to have to be made, of which, some legislation will be passed, some will not, and it all ends up becoming a little bit messy. On the other hand, dealing with people that are illiterate as well as being dependent upon that government to provide for them, is typically going to be a lot easier and a lot more straightforward for that strong government to handle; for as long as that government is able to keep those people fed, clothed, housed, trained, employable, with decent healthcare, along with some mindless entertainment to occupy them, the people are probably going to be relatively satisfied; and if not, that is the very purpose behind the surveillance state and strong policing tactics.
The more intelligent, wise, and engaged a given population is, the more difficult it is going to be to control those informed people, because they intuitively recognize that the only legitimate government is a government that represents the people and therefore answers to those people, for that is the very nature of good and proper governance. Whereas, for those countries that are despotic, even those citizens that are highly educated and well placed, will certainly consider holding their tongue, for when that government holds the power of whether one is able to have a decent life or to thereby take away such through the command it so holds, this serves to often keep those people that could or should rise up, quiet.
The fact of the matter is that government, by its very nature, is always vastly outnumbered by those people it so governs, of which, time has proven again and again, that relatively few people can control vast amounts of people, and do so quite effectively, the more ignorant that population is; for those people that are unable to think much beyond having a place to lay their heads down, food, and some amusement so as to occupy their time, can often be guided in a manner in which they are basically satisfied, as long as their fundamentals of life have been successfully addressed.
The one thing that nearly every government does not wish to see from its population, is for its authority, moral or otherwise, to be challenged, and to be challenged on grounds that make (if those governmental representatives honestly reflect upon such) eminent sense to those so governing it. Those types of challenges can lead to fundamental change within governments, of which, those that are empowered, will often not express interest in voluntary relinquishing such. Still, even when there are valid opposing voices to a particular government, things can readily remain the same, if the masses are provided by that government with the fundamental means to sustain themselves and thereby don't suffer to think of, or have the desire to yearn to be free.
Many people are only too willing to trade their freedom and their liberty for some sort of decent security, virtually every day of the week; and governments that are repressive in nature, that deliberately keep their population unenlightened, do so because the unthinking are far easier to lead and to control, especially as contrasted to all those that do not and will not bow their heads to that which has not earned that right, in the first place.