US EditionThe Us Falls in the Democracy Index as Concerns About Press Freedom Grow
- Varieties of Democracy Institute researchers say in the 2026 Democracy Report that the US was downgraded from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy, citing developments during President Donald Trump's first year back in office.
- The report points to suppression and intimidation of media and dissenting voices, Trump-era attacks on press and civil liberties, and federal rollbacks tied to a Republican-controlled U.S. Congress.
- Data in the report shows the U.S. Liberal Democracy Index score fell by 4 and its rank dropped from 20th to 51st out of 179 countries, based on V‑Dem's global dataset involving more than 4,200 experts.
- Researchers warn the judicial system, including the U.S. Supreme Court, is vital to stopping autocratic advances, and the 2026 American midterm elections are a critical test, report author Professor Staffan Lindberg says.
- Globally, the report finds nearly a quarter of the world's countries have become less democratic and four of the five most populous countries are autocracies, shifting global governance toward authoritarianism.
19 Articles
19 Articles
The United States is slipping into the NGO's Freedom Index. Austria is also among the "free" countries with 94 points.
By Brian Stelter, CNN “The speed at which American democracy is currently being dismantled is unprecedented in modern history,” one of the world’s leading democracy researchers says in a new report. The Varieties of Democracy Institute (V-Dem), a Sweden-based research group, points to the “suppression and intimidation of the media and dissenting voices” as a key reason for the “deterioration of democracy” in the United States. The researchers sa…
Report Flags Decline In U.S. Democratic Standards
A new global report has downgraded the United States’ democratic standing, citing growing concerns over press freedom and concentration of power, reported by CNN, citing the Varieties of Democracies (V-Dem) Institute. The 2026 Democracy Report classifies the US as an “electoral democracy” rather than a “liberal democracy,” pointing to what researchers describe as increased pressure on media and dissenting voices, according to the report. It says…
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