The United States is accelerating the global weakening of the rule of law, according to a new report that found nearly half of the indicators used to measure American democracy have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years. In the report released on Tuesday, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) describes the US as the “most prominent example and accelerator” of the trend, warning that its democratic erosion is having consequences far beyond the country’s borders. Judicial independence has fallen to a 36-year low, while credible elections are at their lowest level in 30 years.
But the report singles out the US because of both the scale of its decline and its outsized global influence, arguing that its retreat from democratic norms has strained multilateral institutions and emboldened authoritarian leaders elsewhere. It pointed to Brazil and Serbia as examples, saying the aftermath of Brazil’s 2022 election, when Jair Bolsonaro sought to remain in power after losing the presidency and his supporters later stormed government buildings, “echoed” the aftermath of the 2020 US election. In Serbia, officials cited Trump’s claims of mismanagement at USAID to justify raids on civil society organisations.
Except for free political parties, the other six are now at their lowest levels in the dataset’s history. On press freedom, International IDEA cites cuts to funding for public broadcasters NPR, PBS and the US Agency for Global Media, as well as “ad hominem attacks on journalists, particularly women, and lawsuits against media organisations such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC”. Universities have also come under pressure.
The report calls the Trump administration’s use of the immigration system the “starkest example” of declining access to justice. It points to 137 Venezuelans sent to El Salvador under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act, saying many had little or no established connection to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang and were denied the chance to properly challenge their removal in court. The report also warns that the broader erosion of democracy comes with consequences for global security, finding that some forms of democratic decline are associated with a greater risk of violent conflict.
There were 65 violent conflicts in 2025, the most recorded since the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s series began in 1946, including a record eight conflicts between states.
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