They're trying to consolidate to hold power, but that's what's causing them to collapse. Whenever an authoritarian seeks to maintain power, they crush dissent and close ranks. Eventually this turns into a purity spiral where there's too much dissent to crush, and not enough people to close ranks. Then the whole thing collapses in a cascade failure.
It might be the collapse or a consolidation of power like WW2. The internet has made things weird.
They're trying to consolidate to hold power, but that's what's causing them to collapse. Whenever an authoritarian seeks to maintain power, they crush dissent and close ranks. Eventually this turns into a purity spiral where there's too much dissent to crush, and not enough people to close ranks. Then the whole thing collapses in a cascade failure.