An extreme concentration of power in the president’s hands. A Congress that, in Lindberg’s words (Staffan Lindberg, founding director of the V-Dem Institute), has abdicated. And Trump’s use of paramilitary forces in American cities – ICE soldiers who killed two civilian protesters this past winter.

“The United States used to talk about being a global beacon for democracy and freedom,” Lindberg says.

“That idea has now been erased.”

Read the full V-Dem Democracy Report 2026: t.co/dPL7tHQH3J