V-Dem, a Swedish research institute, reports that nearly a quarter of the world’s nations are backsliding toward autocracy since 2025, and six of the ten newly autocratizing countries are in Europe and North America.
Freedom House’s 2026 report finds global freedom declined for the 20th consecutive year, with 54 countries worsening and 35 improving. Both name the United States among the major decliners, though the U.S. is one case among many. werdlongtermwiki
Who is behind it. Researchers generally don’t describe a single coordinated force. They point to several overlapping ones:
- Elected leaders and parties inside democracies who concentrate power, pressure courts and media, or weaken checks on the executive. V-Dem identifies suppression and intimidation of media and opposition voices as a key mechanism. This is where the most intense disagreement lies, because which leaders count as threats depends on the country and on who you ask. mezha
- Authoritarian states, such as Russia and China, that fund influence operations and run disinformation campaigns abroad. This is widely documented, though the reach and effect of such efforts are debated.
- Violent extremists of various ideologies, whose attacks undermine public trust and prompt harsh government responses. Many of the attacks I’d expect you’re reading about fall here.
- Underlying conditions like polarization, economic anxiety, declining trust in institutions, and algorithm-driven misinformation, which make all of the above easier.
The other side of the debate. Some political scientists argue the alarm may be overstated. One line of research holds that indices relying on expert judgment may reflect coder bias, and that more “objective” indicators show little to no global backsliding. A response from V-Dem researchers contends that its expert-based approach limits the potential for systematic bias. A middle-ground study found evidence of backsliding, but starting later and less pronounced than some indices suggest. Others criticize the indices for assuming a liberal-democratic model, or for treating contested policy choices as threats. There is also some positive news, since V-Dem lists examples of democratizing states such as South Korea, where a 2024 martial law attempt was quickly reversed. core reader +3
So the evidence supports “democracy is under real pressure in many places,” but “who is responsible” depends on the country, the specific actions, and the viewer’s own political lens. Your teaching background in propaganda and persuasion is relevant here, because disputes over what counts as “attacking democracy” are themselves often fought through framing.
Your message cut off at “developments here in the ___.” Which country did you mean? I can then look at the specific events you’ve been reading about.
Worldwide it appears to be spreading
The data supports that impression. V-Dem’s 2026 report describes backsliding that has spread beyond fragile states to affect established democracies in Europe and North America, with freedom of expression showing the most severe decline. Its title asks whether we are seeing the “unraveling” of the democratic era, and it calls the moment a “great reversal.” Freedom House’s count of 20 straight years of decline points the same way, and it adds that democratic governments are retreating from their traditional role as defenders of freedom, emboldening autocratic regimes. the state of democracy worldwide v dem institute releases its 10th annual democracy report +2
Scholars point to a few mechanisms:
- Imitation. Leaders who weaken courts, media or electoral rules without a heavy price become models for others. Tactics travel across borders quickly.
- Weakened external pressure. When established democracies stop promoting democratic norms, the cost of backsliding falls for everyone.
- Shared information environments. The same social media dynamics, misinformation and polarization show up in very different countries at the same time.
- Common stresses. Economic strain, migration debates and distrust of institutions are widespread, and they create openings for leaders who promise strength over process.
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Democracy is back to 1978 levels. That means roughly four decades of gains have been erased, not that democracy is gone. The peak came around the year 2000, when Freedom House estimated that 63% of all states were democratic. The share has been falling since then, and Freedom House counts 20 straight years of net decline. shankerinstituteSubstack
- Most of the world’s democracies are still standing. Backsliding usually means weakened courts, press and opposition, not a sudden collapse into dictatorship.
- Democracies have recovered before, including after the 1970s and early 1980s, which is the period V-Dem’s numbers are now compared to.
- Some countries are moving the other way, and V-Dem names South Korea as one.
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What the evidence does support. The decline is broad, it now reaches long-established democracies, and freedom of expression is eroding fastest. That is a serious warning without being a final verdict, and the outcome depends heavily on how citizens, courts, journalists and institutions respond.
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Is “Disappearing Democracy on Earth” a pace is debated. Some researchers think the indices exaggerate the global trend, and others find real backsliding that began later and is less sharp than the headline numbers. Reasonable scholars disagree.
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“Spreading” isn’t “inevitable.” V-Dem’s own report lists countries moving the other way, and South Korea is the example where an attempted power grab was reversed. Democracies usually hold up when courts, the press, civil servants, the opposition and ordinary citizens refuse to go along with the erosion.
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