https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Dictatorship_to_Democracy
TL;DR A livable society needs an active, engaged citizenry fighting for good things to happen. When a dictatorship arrives, that society has a lot of tools they can use to resist, for the simple fact that any dictatorship is basically just a handful of people at the top who are dependent on everyone else doing what they say. They're a lot more fragile than they seem.