Global Rule of Law Under Threat from Rapid Democratic Decline in the United States, Watchdog Warns

The United States has emerged as a primary catalyst behind the worldwide deterioration of democratic norms and the rule of law, according to a sweeping assessment released by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA). The democracy watchdog highlighted that nearly half of the metrics used to gauge the health of American democratic governance have plummeted to their lowest points in half a century.

In its comprehensive study tracking democratic performance, the intergovernmental organization identified the United States as both the most conspicuous example and an active driver of institutional decay. The report cautioned that the dismantling of democratic guardrails within Washington is triggering destructive ripple effects across the international community, destabilizing traditional alliances and encouraging illiberal governance abroad.

The global landscape painted by the findings reflects a widespread retreat from democratic standards. Between 2020 and 2025, approximately 57 percent of nations experienced measurable declines in at least one fundamental democratic metric. Furthermore, judicial independence on a worldwide scale has sunk to a 36-year low, while the prevalence of credible elections has dropped to levels not recorded in three decades.

Despite broad-based global challenges, researchers placed unique emphasis on the United States due to its historical role as an institutional anchor and its vast geopolitical footprint. The report noted that when the world’s most powerful democracy retreats from established norms, it inflicts acute strain on international institutions and undermines multilateral frameworks designed to preserve peace and accountability.

Kevin Casas-Zamora, the secretary-general of International IDEA, emphasized that the stability of international democracy has long depended on a robust domestic and global commitment to legal accountability. He warned that the accelerated erosion of American democracy is actively impairing judicial systems, fracturing international partnerships, and posing severe hazards to representative governance across the globe.

A substantial portion of the report’s scrutiny focused on executive overreach within the United States. Analysts observed that President Donald Trump systematically centralized authority inside the executive branch, deploying state mechanisms to advance narrow personal objectives while actively pursuing retributive actions against political opponents.

This consolidation of executive authority has fostered a domestic climate characterized by diminished institutional checks and balances. The watchdog warned that the narrowing of civic space and the curtailment of institutional counterweights have made open dissent and political resistance increasingly hazardous within the country.

Between 2020 and 2025, the United States registered statistically significant downturns across seven key governance indicators. These areas of retreat included access to justice, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and judicial independence. With the exception of the metric evaluating free political parties, the remaining six indicators plunged to the lowest marks ever recorded in the organization’s historical dataset.

The systematic pressure applied to the American media landscape formed a critical element of the watchdog's findings. International IDEA documented substantial funding reductions targeting public broadcasters, including National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and the US Agency for Global Media. The report also pointed to hostile rhetoric directed at reporters—especially female journalists—alongside legal challenges launched against prominent media outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the BBC.

Higher education institutions have similarly felt the impact of heightened executive pressure. The report cited state-level and federal interventions aimed at compromising academic freedom, altering university hiring criteria, and interfering with institutional accreditation. These measures were exemplified by executive decisions to withhold vital federal funding from prestigious institutions, including Columbia University and Harvard University.

The Trump administration’s handling of immigration enforcement was singled out as the most glaring demonstration of diminishing access to the justice system. The report specifically referenced the deportation of 137 Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador under the provisions of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Many of the expelled individuals had little to no demonstrated connection to the Venezuelan criminal network Tren de Aragua and were systematically deprived of the opportunity to contest their removal through formal court proceedings.

Beyond domestic borders, the study documented how the weakening of American standards serves as a blueprint for foreign leaders seeking to subvert democratic processes. In Brazil, the political turmoil following the 2022 presidential race closely mirrored the contested 2020 US presidential election, culminating in supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro storming key government complexes in an effort to overturn election results.

A similar dynamic was observed in Serbia, where state authorities utilized American political narratives regarding alleged mismanagement at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to legitimize police raids against independent civil society organizations and non-governmental bodies.

The assessment concluded with a stark warning connecting democratic degradation to a rising likelihood of global violence. The data revealed that the collapse of institutional accountability strongly correlates with increased risks of armed conflict.

Reinforcing this link, the Uppsala Conflict Data Program recorded 65 active violent conflicts worldwide in 2025, representing the highest annual total since data collection began in 1946. That figure included eight interstate conflicts between sovereign nations, setting an unprecedented historical record.

As democratic safeguards continue to face structural erosion, International IDEA reiterated that the preservation of global peace relies directly on restoring internal institutional checks, judicial independence, and adherence to legal norms within leading democratic states.