We need to describe the organization of the passage on this one. Sometimes I think of these questions as being similar to Logical Reasoning. In this case this question would be like a Method of Reasoning question.
Prephrase: "Okay the author front loads his argument by saying most authoritarian rulers who undertake democratic reforms do so out of necessity created by changing societal forces, and not out of an intrinsic desire to see true change. He then goes on to describe 3 of these societal forces, and wraps up his argument in the last paragraph by going a little more in depth with his argument in the first paragraph."
I go to the answer choices with this in mind.
(A) "the relative importance of each category is assessed . . . " The author never ranks the three societal changes in terms of importance. "The possibility of alternate causes is considered and rejected." The author does not consider any other causes except the three causes mentioned in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4. Get rid of this.
(B) This is exactly what I described in my prephrase. Refer back to it at the top if there is any confusion. When doing a question like this take a look at each statement made before each semi-colon. If it describes what is happening in the passage in the correct order then it is the right answer.
(C) "one possible cause is preferred over the others . . ." The author never gives preferential treatment to any of the three causes he lists out in the passage. Get rid of it.
(D) "similarities between this phenomenon and three similar phenomena are presented . . ." The author does not talk about the similarity between the motivation the authoritarian regimes have for undertaking democratic reforms, and the three societal changes that necessitate those reforms. Get rid of it.
(E) "differences between this phenomenon and three similar phenomenon are presented . . ." This is the opposite of answer choice D. The author does not talk about the differences between the motivation the authoritarian regimes have for undertaking democratic reforms, and the three societal changes that necessitate those reforms. Get rid of it.