Simply put, they are liberal states that don't have free and fair elections. In the context of the 18th and 19th centuries, they were basically states that did away with feudal relationships and serfdom. You can probably compare it to enlightened absolutism.

For example, Austrian Emperor Joseph II created a diverse bureaucracy that was representative of the Empire's population at large, reformed the legal code so as to guarantee equal treatment before the law, instituted tax reform to make it more equitable, made elementary education compulsory, guaranteed freedom of religion, abolished serfdom, and so on. These are liberal reforms that came from an absolute/autocratic ruler. Thus, Joseph made a liberal state, yet not one where the people at large could influence the creation of policy.