After a Year of Trump's Presidency, the US Democracy Index Worsens in 2025

Adi Ahdiat 30/03/2026 14:29 WIB

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According to a report by the V-Dem Institute, one year after President Donald Trump took office, the democracy index of the United States (US) deteriorated in 2025.

The Liberal Democracy Index in the United States, according to the V-Dem Institute (2016-2025)

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The Liberal Democracy Index in the United States, according to the V-Dem Institute (2016-2025)

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The state of democracy in the United States (US) deteriorated significantly in 2025, a year after the country was led by President Donald Trump.

This is evident from the V-Dem Institute's research report titled "Democracy Report 2026: Unraveling The Democratic Era?" (March 2026).

The V-Dem Institute assesses democratic practices in various countries based on the principles of "liberal democracy", which include:

Equality before the law;
Constitutional protection of civil liberties;
Protection of individual and minority group rights from state and majority group tyranny;
Strong rule of law;
Independent judiciary;
Effective oversight and distribution of power; and
Restrictions on government power.

The results are then processed into a score on a scale of 0-1 points. The higher the score, the better the liberal democratic practices in a country are rated.

Previously, during the period 2016-2024, the US's liberal democracy index score was always in the range of 0.7 points. However, in 2025, the score suddenly plummeted to 0.57 points, the worst in the last decade.

"The extensive damage already done to American democracy under the second Trump presidency, in just one year," said the V-Dem Institute in its report.

According to the V-Dem Institute, aspects of electoral democracy in the US were still quite good in 2025.

However, other aspects of democracy deteriorated, especially freedom of expression, check and balance, rule of law, and protection of civil rights.

"While the electoral aspects of the USA democracy remain largely unaffected, all other aspects have substantially deteriorated, driving the democracy index down," said the V-Dem Institute.

"We are not alone in this assessment. Professor Steven Levitsky at Harvard University says the regime in the USA is now some type of authoritarianism," they said.

Editor : Adi Ahdiat

"Disclosure: This is an AI-generated translation of the original article. We strive for accuracy, but please note that automated translations may contain errors or slight inconsistencies."