Recently, the Economist Intelligence Unit investigated the status of democracies around the globe. Relying on 60 indicators that focus on the performance of free elections, civil liberties, government functioning, political participation, and political culture in a country, the study found that ________.

A) almost all of the world's democracies are full democracies
B) nearly half of the world's democracies qualify as "full" or "flawed" democracies
C) less than a quarter of the countries studied are outright authoritarian regimes
D) most democracies are hybrid political systems that share theocratic and totalitarian characteristics