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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Martin Gelin

‘Trump is aiming for dictatorship’. That’s the verdict of the world’s most credible democracy watchdog

Donald Trump Democracy Martin Gelin United States European Union "Erdogan Orbán Europe Sweden Civil Rights
A portrait of US president Donald Trump is seen through the snow in Washington, DC, 2 March 2026.
A portrait of US president Donald Trump is seen through the snow in Washington, DC, 2 March 2026. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

The US is no longer a democracy. One of the most credible global sources on the health of democratic nations now says this outright. The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute at Gothenburg University reaches the alarming conclusion in its annual report, that the US is hurtling towards autocracy at a faster rate than Hungary and Turkey.

“Our data on the USA goes back to 1789. What we’re seeing now is the most severe magnitude of democratic backsliding ever in the country,” says Staffan Lindberg, founder of the institute.

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