US Democracy in Unprecedented Decline, Warns Leading Global Watchdog
A stark warning has been issued by one of the world's most credible democracy monitoring organisations. The Varieties of Democracy Institute at Sweden's University of Gothenburg has declared that the United States is no longer a liberal democracy. In its annual report, the institute concludes that America is hurtling towards autocracy at a faster rate than countries like Hungary and Turkey, with democratic backsliding reaching its most severe magnitude since records began in 1789.
"Trump Is Aiming for Dictatorship"
Staffan Lindberg, founder of the V-Dem Institute, states unequivocally that the current trajectory points towards authoritarian rule. "Trump is aiming for dictatorship," Lindberg asserts, drawing direct parallels with leaders like Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey. The report highlights that Trump has achieved in just one year what took other autocratising leaders between four and ten years to accomplish regarding the suppression of democratic institutions.
The research indicates that US democracy has regressed to its worst level since 1965, effectively erasing all progress made since civil rights laws established de facto universal suffrage. Worldwide, democracy has receded to its lowest levels since the mid-1970s, with a record 41% of the global population now living in countries where democratic institutions are deteriorating.
Unprecedented Concentration of Presidential Power
The V-Dem Institute employs 48 different metrics to assess democratic health, including freedom of expression, media independence, election quality, and rule of law observance. Their "liberal democracy index" reveals that the speed of democratic dismantling in the United States is unprecedented in modern history.
"We've seen a very fast concentration of power in the executive wing," Lindberg explains. "The legislative branch has practically abdicated its powers to the president. It no longer functions as a check on executive power." During Trump's first year in office, he signed 225 executive orders while the Republican-controlled Congress passed only 49 new laws, most of which were insignificant modifications to existing legislation.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has largely abdicated its oversight role, and even when it does strike down executive orders, Trump finds ways to circumvent judicial rulings. More than 600 ongoing judicial procedures against the Trump administration are currently moving through the courts.
Removal of Democratic Guardrails
Another alarming aspect highlighted in the report is the systematic removal of internal guardrails designed to prevent abuse of power within the federal government. Trump has fired inspector generals and senior civil servants across departments, replacing them with loyalists. "This is exactly what Orbán and Erdoğan did," Lindberg notes. "They remove the constraints on power. It should be obvious by now that Trump is aiming for dictatorship."
Civil rights have declined rapidly under the current administration, with freedom of expression now at its lowest level since the 1940s. The report specifically mentions Trump's pardon for 1,500 people convicted of the Capitol Hill assault as undermining the legitimacy of courts and the justice system.
European Democratic Erosion
The democratic decline is not confined to the United States. The V-Dem report identifies seven European Union member states currently affected by autocratisation: Hungary, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, and Romania. These countries show signs of governments implementing media censorship, restricting freedom of expression, and repressing civil society. Portugal and Bulgaria have been placed on the institute's "watchlist" for concerning developments.
Perhaps most surprisingly for British readers, the United Kingdom is identified as a "new autocratiser," driven by what the report describes as "a substantial decline" in freedom of expression and media independence. Lindberg points to legislation including the Elections Act 2022, Policing Act 2022, Online Safety Act 2023, and Higher Education Act 2023 as contributing to this democratic backsliding.
A Small Institute with Global Credibility
The V-Dem Institute began in 2012 with Lindberg and a small group of researchers frustrated by inadequate metrics for measuring democracy. Today, their core team of a dozen researchers in Gothenburg collaborates with 4,200 researchers across 180 countries, maintaining what they claim is the largest global dataset on democracy with more than 32 million data points spanning from 1789 to 2025.
"We have universal standards, but also people on the ground to tell us what is actually going on," Lindberg explains. "The reports are 100% scientific, research-driven, and our data is free from bias and state influence, from general punditry and political considerations."
Glimmers of Hope Amidst Democratic Darkness
Despite the overwhelmingly negative assessment, the report does identify some positive developments. Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Estonia, and Ireland top V-Dem's global democracy index for 2025. Poland receives recognition for attempting to reverse its autocratic trajectory. In the United States, free and open elections continue to be held, and the electoral system "remains stable for now."
Trump's authoritarian turn appears increasingly unpopular domestically, with his approval rating now below 40%. Many Trump voters have expressed disappointment with the new war in Iran and steadily rising living costs. Liberal states like Minnesota and California have successfully fought back against threats to civil rights and local communities. Even within the MAGA movement, criticism of the administration's direction is growing.
However, Lindberg warns against complacency: "If we see a denial of the election results in 2026, then it's a complete democratic breakdown." The report notes that 40% of election and poll workers have quit since 2020 due to threats and intimidation, creating vulnerabilities in the electoral system.
With only 18 countries worldwide currently democratising—a historic low—the V-Dem report serves as a stark warning that democratic institutions cannot be taken for granted. As Lindberg concludes: "The world has never before seen as many countries autocratising at the same time."
