US democratic backsliding under Trump encourages autocrats globally, democracy watchdog says
Source: Reuters
September 10, 2025 8:12 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago
STOCKHOLM, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Executive overreach and foreign aid funding cuts during U.S. President Donald Trump's first six months in office have hurt international democratization efforts and encouraged populist leaders around the world, an intergovernmental democracy watchdog said on Thursday.
The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) said it issued 20 alerts between January and April 2025 - twice as many as in any of the previous two full years - documenting instances in which the U.S. government eroded rules, institutions and norms that shape the country's democracy.
It named efforts to restrict academic freedom, criminalize protest activity, question the legitimacy of certified elections, selectively restrict media access to the executive and circumvent normal due process.
"In less than six months, U.S. domestic political institutions have also lost much of their symbolic sheen, increasingly serving as a reference point for executive overreach and offering more encouragement to populist strongman leaders than to pro-democracy hopefuls," IDEA said in its annual Global State of Democracy report.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-democratic-backsliding-under-trump-encourages-autocrats-globally-democracy-2025-09-11/
Link to International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) PRESS RELEASE - Global Democracy Report: Majority of Countries Worsen as Press Freedom Hits 50-Year Low
Link to International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) REPORT SITE - https://interactive.idea.int/gsod-2025
Link to International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) REPORT (PDF) - https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/2025-09/global-state-of-democracy-2025-democracy-on-the-move_0.pdf