The story

The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance released its annual report Tuesday finding that key indicators of strong democracies have fallen to record lows globally, including judicial independence, freedom of expression, and access to justice. The report, which covers 174 countries and draws on data going back to 1975, identified the US under President Donald Trump as patient zero for the crisis in global democracy.

The report states that in 2025, Trump quickly amassed power in the executive branch and wielded it to further a narrow set of personal goals and pursue retaliation against perceived enemies. Nearly half of the 30 indicators used to measure democracy strength have fallen to their lowest levels in the US, including economic equality, an effective legislature, access to justice, freedom of expression, free press, and judicial independence. US democracy has reached its lowest levels in 50 years, according to the report.

The report comes more than a year and a half into Trump's second term, which has been marked by a violent crackdown on immigrants and protesters. At least 11 people, including three US citizens, have been killed by federal agents carrying out anti-immigration operations, while journalists have been arrested for covering anti-Trump protests. Democracy is no longer the central focus of US foreign policy, and the democratic aid the US used to provide to developing countries has been dismantled.