this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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Donald Trump’s authoritarian drift in his second term places the country on a par with Hungary or Turkey, according to a ranking by Sweden’s V-Dem Institute

Democratic backsliding is advancing in the developed world. The annual report from Sweden's V-Dem Institute leaves no room for doubt: almost a quarter of the world experienced democratic backsliding, or a shift towards autocratization, in 2025, and six of the 10 newly regressive countries identified in the research are located in Europe and North America, including G-7 powers such as Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

But the most unsettling conclusion reached by the Swedish institute is that the United States


once a proud beacon of the more or less free world


is no longer a liberal democracy and is now on a par with countries like Hungary or Turkey, thanks to President Donald Trump. Autocracy is also spreading throughout Europe, but its reach extends far beyond the Old Continent: 41% of the world's population (3.4 billion people) now live in countries where democracy is eroding.

The institute, which belongs to the University of Gothenburg and uses 48 metrics in its evaluation, is one of the most reliable sources when it comes to rating the state of governments around the world, and the conclusion of its 2026 study confirms the worst fears about the authoritarian drift of the U.S. under Trump's leadership.

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[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

Weird how everyone who was told they were overreacting are not being told that anymore.

[–] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 11 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

He's making moves like he's expecting to be around another 50 years when he probably has 10 at the most. I'm way more afraid of who he might be paving the way for.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

He could die tomorrow. Pandora's Box is already open.

For the remainder of our lives we will see copycat politicians who strip more and more of our rights away when they gain power because they all watched and saw and know they can do what Trump did and more without suffering repercussions.

America put up a big sign letting them all know we are too weak to make them pay. They will take advantage. Why wouldn't they?

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 9 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

No way he has 10 years in him. Motherfucker is mentally gone as is. Weekend at Bernie's.

[–] ugandan_airways@lemmy.zip 2 points 5 hours ago

I don’t think he is going to last his whole term. He looks like absolute shit, and sounds even worse. Fuck, he makes Biden’s last years look energetic. And Biden was a fucking reanimated corpse.

[–] SoloPhoenyx@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

The DNC made damn sure we wouldn't have one minute at Bernie's let alone an entire weekend.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 9 hours ago

Those red neck scars are an attempt to relieve his dementia with a blood flow stent.

[–] Arachnidbrilliant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 11 hours ago (2 children)

All right, everybody needs pitchforks and torches. And we need four horses with four long ropes

[–] SoloPhoenyx@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Why do you think almost the entire cabinet lives on military bases.

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 hours ago

Or, instead of the horses, and hear me out, we just need some green saplings maybe 20 feet tall and some rope in a sort of circle around a spot...

[–] SnarkoPolo@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

No one will grow a ball and stop him, so it's already too late. If you're an American, your life will never be the same.

[–] Sektor@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

Only thing that can stop him is his incompetence.

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 8 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It's not a single person issue. The entire system is broken. Taking out one leader is not going to fix anything.

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 3 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

But will it make things better? Worse?

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 5 points 11 hours ago

Who knows? On one hand Trump's dementia means he's acting erratically. On the other it means that it's harder for the Nazis to follow whatever plan they have for the US. The next leader may stabilize things but the fall of democracy may be even faster.

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 hours ago

He's on his way out. And despite the inevitability of the party fixing elections with the controlled opposition we have that these motherfuckers still trust somehow, in time, a true leader will emerge and lay waste to the oligarchy, it's as certain as spring finally arriving.

[–] Helloooo@lemmy.world 1 points 10 hours ago

Us was always an electoral autocracy, you can vote an autocrat, it was never a democratic nation. Only a country which follow effective proportional representation system of democracy can be claimed as a democracy

[–] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 17 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (6 children)

I can remember when lots of the reactionary centrists and not a few on the left, oh, and of course, the right wing blow-hards, were playing Tone Police for everyone in 2016, and 2020 and again in 2024: lecturing us all about how uncivil it all was to be talking about fascism in relation to conservatives.

I wonder where all the WELLACKTUALLY guys are now.

[–] stylusmobilus@aussie.zone 1 points 1 hour ago

lecturing us

Also about not understanding the law system, that it takes time and Trump was done. Really condescending shit. I noticed just before I got permabanned from Reddit that they were disappearing or gone.

[–] VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world 5 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

not a few on the left,

Nah, was a lot actually. I know a lot of people that were really upset after the election and after the first few months. Then it stopped being a problem. "You're overreacting." "Don't think about it." "We'll be fine next election."

[–] teyrnon@sh.itjust.works 1 points 10 hours ago

We would have been if we could get rid of the controlled opposition. But you all still trust the establishment democrats somehow.

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[–] icedaemon0@lemmy.world 3 points 19 hours ago

always has been

[–] Nikko882@lemmy.world 73 points 1 day ago (7 children)

Let's be honest, the US was no shining beacon of democracy even before Trump. The system was rotten and everyone knew it. However, those with the power to change it have no incentive to do so. It was basically held up because the poeple in charge had some common decency. At that point it's just a matter of time before someone came along that didn't have this basic decency.

I think the people of the UK should take a long, hard look at how the situation has evolved in the US and decide if they want to change their system to avoid having only two parties dominate the political climate. Ironically, being a monarchy means they are probably more resistant to going down the same route, but I suspect the parties are going to get more radical as time goes on and the royals aren't terribly popular these days.

(Opinion to be taken with a pinch of salt. I am no expert in these things and don't live in either country; We've got our own radicalization and issues with our own democracy.)

[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 3 points 11 hours ago

the poeple in charge had some common decency.

The people in charge were scared of the public a little bit. It was not their decency that was stopping them, it was the danger of losing next elections if they took it too far. Bush attacked Iraq and he didn't lie about the WMDs out of decency. He lied to cover his ass. Lindsey Graham was the same guy he is now back then. He didn't lose his decency along the way. He realized he can be himself and people will still vote for him.

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