According to the annual democracy report from the V-Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, the United States is no longer classified as a liberal democracy. The report shows that under President Donald Trump's second term, democracy levels in the US have fallen back to 1965 levels, marking what researchers call the largest democratic decline in US history.
Staffan I Lindberg, professor of political science and head of the V-Dem Institute, stated that Trump has dismantled democracy as much as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan did over a decade. The US has dropped from position 24 to 51 in the democracy ranking of 179 countries measured in the 2025 report.
Trump has dismantled democracy as much as Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan did over a decade.
Lindberg described the situation as dramatic and noted that the upcoming midterm elections in November represent a critical point for American democracy. The findings indicate that democratic erosion in the US has accelerated significantly during Trump's current term, with the country experiencing its most severe democratic backslide on record.
The upcoming midterm elections in November represent a critical point for American democracy.