The United States loses its status as a liberal democracy: ‘Trump is aiming for a dictatorship’ (english.elpais.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world

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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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[-] Nikko882@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago

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.)

[-] KneeTitts@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

the US was no shining beacon of democracy even before Trump

he didnt create that corrupt system, hes just taking advantage of it..

actually he and the other pedo billionaires did help to create the corrupt system who am I kidding?

[-] MerryJaneDoe@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

WWII changed everything about the USA. Everywhere else in the world, manufacturing was bombed to oblivion, the populace unable to rebuild without a coordinated effort from governments and NGOs.

The US became a hub of manufacturing. We exported our culture, and our products, all over the world. Our currency and our language became the standard in business.

Everything since then has been a slow walk backwards, so that the ultrawealthy could exert more control and line their pockets. A return to the "real" American values of exploitation.

[-] HermitBee@feddit.uk 1 points 2 weeks ago

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.

There are currently 5 parties vying for position here, but your point is still generally true. Hopefully with the rise of smaller parties, we might start to see a move towards a more proportional system, but I'm not holding my breath.

[-] MisterFrog@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

There are currently 5 parties vying for position here

I know you're not disagreeing, but I find it absolutely hilarious (in a bad way) that UK political parties will put out flyers of who is most likely to win, as a way to convince people to vote for them.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zDLxgEquxA0

All while having rejected bringing in preferential voting at a referendum, not even that long ago.

As an Australian, may I say, you royally fucked up on that one. We have issues in our electoral system too, (mostly around lower house electorates being single-member, and not say 3-member to more accurately represent the electorate), but thank Christ we have preferential voting.

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

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.

[-] VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

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."

[-] stylusmobilus@aussie.zone 1 points 2 weeks 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.

[-] Buffalox@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Worldwide, democracy has regressed to its lowest levels since the mid-1970s

I've been saying over and over again here, that it's generally been going backwards since the 70's. This goes for democracy, respect for human rights and minorities, and the peace movement.

And many people here simply don't believe it. (I'm guessing younger ones)

[-] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Let’s talk about what this really means, though. Why would that happen?

Could it be anything like:

Because power is a fickle structure by nature and therefore democracy is an unstable system?
Because technology advanced so fast that it yields control to whomever sits at its forefront?
Because society chose not to make theoretical laws for technology that had yet been invented?
Because (e.g., Russian) state propaganda was allowed to become so powerful that it actually destabilized global democracy?
Because we were naïvely assuming we had a stable democracy, when in fact we never really did — it just hadn’t been under enough stress to show its flaws?
Because institutional capitalism with monarch style governance is an economic system that necessarily leads to authoritarianism?
Because the libertarian value tolerance of debate is an ill founded ideology, and we actually need more intolerance (e.g., limitations on free speech)?
Because social media is not respected by the masses as the enormous medium of control that it wound up being in actuality?
…

What’s the next big realization here for mankind?

[-] toad@sh.itjust.works 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Americans doing regime changes, mostly

[-] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

I mean, sure. But shouldn’t something be said about what that means for democracy? Would it be:

“Democracy only works if you don’t try regime changes in foreign states, otherwise it starts to experience a phenomenon where the democracy withers”

…?

I’m doubtful it’s that simple. If it is, then democracy seems rather unstable in its current form. All it takes is one bad leader to trigger a chain reaction toward failure? Again, I’m doubtful.

There’s got to be a bigger story here.

[-] BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 2 weeks ago

The rich people are in an exclusive club and collude without meeting because what's good for one is good for the other. They've also been a big driving force for change in the world from consumer based economic models to "supplier" based models. IE themselves.

[-] partofthevoice@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 weeks ago

When you put it that way, it sounds like democracy requires a global effort to continuously thwart such collusion, such wealth, maybe such exclusively? Something… It sounds righteous to me, but also like something that can become equally oppressive in perhaps many different ways.

What you describe is something that I understand to have been the case for most of human history, if not all of it. How do you resolve that issue? And, if that’s really the issue, what do you make of modern democracies?

[-] Psythik@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

We need a second hippie revolution. And I don't mean the half-assed underground "comebacks" from the late 90s and 2010s, a real movement that actually influences policy.

[-] mriormro@lemmy.zip -1 points 2 weeks ago

Lol, the hippies didn't do shit.

[-] icedaemon0@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago

always has been

[-] Formfiller@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

The pedofile class doesn’t want democracy

[-] KneeTitts@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

[-] Formfiller@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Enlightenment

[-] BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 2 weeks ago

As far as I'm concerned, everyone who is a billionaire has to prove they had nothing to do with Epstein or pedophilia in general.

[-] Formfiller@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago

I feel like that’s reasonable but billionaires should automatically be abolished also

[-] CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

Let them try to get by on $999,999,999.99

If they pinch their pennies, show some restraint on...what was it? Avocado toast, Netflix subscriptions, smart phones, and big screen TVs, they just might get by on a mere penny less than one billion....

[-] Cytobit@piefed.social 0 points 2 weeks ago

Given that elections are the defining feature of a democracy, I think it would be prudent to wait until after the mid term elections to start proclaiming the demise of American democracy. Granted, the Republicans are trying their best with mass disenfranchisement, but it remains to be seen how effective they will be.

[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 weeks ago

But there's already such a long list of laws and rules he just ignores and seemingly gets away with. It's madness.

[-] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

We don't have actual "elections"

We have two private organizations (Ds and Rs) who have through law crushed all possible opposition.

So we get two candidates to chose from, both curated by the billionaire "donors" running each party. This is not a conspiracy, see Super PACs for more.

They won't cancel the "elections", there's absolutely no need.

[-] MerryJaneDoe@lemmy.world 0 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Giggle. We've been playing "wait and see" for a decade now.

Elections don't solve this. We've seen that high-level Democrats are no different than high-level Republicans. Biden refused to investigate the Epstein files, he refused to prosecute Trump, and he refused to target gerrymandering/election interference.

There's no version of this where the old America magically returns. That's the same logic trap that ushered in this entire mess. There are plenty of MAGA who truly believe that they are shaking up the system and that just one more election will solve everything.

THIS. IS. THE. FUTURE.

We are living in it. The trajectory is set. We didn't stop militarization of the police when they stepped on our rights. We didn't stop data collection when we were warned. We didn't stop gross financial mismanagement, corporate influence, gerrymandering and all the other things that make a democracy work.

We aren't living in a fascist takeover. That happened years ago. We are living in its aftermath. We are frogs in a simmering pot, watching the bubbles float past us and wondering how to turn off the heat. It doesn't matter now, the damage is done. The momentum takes control.

this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026

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