US democratic decline threatens global rule of law, report warns

The United States is accelerating the global weakening of the rule of law, according to a new report that found nearly half of the indicators used to measure American democracy have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years.

In the report released on Tuesday, the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) describes the US as the “most prominent example and accelerator” of the trend, warning that its democratic erosion is having consequences far beyond the country’s borders.

“President Donald 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 ,” the report stated. “In that environment, which is marked by constricted space for both public expression and institutional checks on power, resistance is increasingly unsafe.”

Globally, around 57 percent of countries declined in at least one key indicator of democratic performance between 2020 and 2025. Judicial independence has fallen to a 36-year low, while credible elections are at their lowest level in 30 years.

But the report singles out the US because of both the scale of its decline and its outsized global influence, arguing that its retreat from democratic norms has strained multilateral institutions and emboldened authoritarian leaders elsewhere.

“The results have been far-reaching, undermining the rule of law domestically and internationally and testing long-standing alliances and multilateral cooperation,” the report stated.

It pointed to Brazil and Serbia as examples, saying the aftermath of Brazil’s 2022 election, when Jair Bolsonaro sought to remain in power after losing the presidency and his supporters later stormed government buildings, “echoed” the aftermath of the 2020 US election. In Serbia, officials cited Trump’s claims of mismanagement at USAID to justify raids on civil society organisations.

“For decades, the rule of law both domestically and in the international order has underpinned the resilience of democracies,” International IDEA Secretary-General Kevin Casas-Zamora said. “Now, the rapid decline of democracy in the USA is weakening judicial independence and fragmenting the international system — threatening democracy around the world.”