I think it is possible but not very likely. And I think scale and economic prosperity may have something to do with it. I’m thinking of Singapore, which isn’t the most democratic of states but also is tiny. Monaco falls into the same category. What those two very roughly have in common is economic strength and that seems to sort of compensate for lack of democratic liberties. I would drop the theory that a state the size of other countries’ cities can establish an authoritarian leadership that doesn’t rely mostly on fear mongering (but probably will here or there).