Instead of relying on politicians' declarations, a team of over 4,200 experts analyzes over 32 million data points for 202 countries. This methodology allows us to detect warning signals before the process of autocratization becomes irreversible. Democracy rarely dies in the roar of gunfire; more often it happens in the silence of offices, when the fuses of power are dismantled. Staffan I. Lindberg, the founder of the Institute, puts it clearly: “All of us, researchers of democratization, have today become researchers of autocratization.”
Today's dictators rarely need tanks on the streets
The latest report sheds light on the collapse at the heart of the Western order. The United States dropped out of the classification of liberal democracies for the first time in over half a century. Under Donald Trump, America has sunk back to its 1965 level of freedom. Lindberg emphasizes the breakneck pace of these changes: “It took Orbán in Hungary about four years, Vucic in Serbia eight, and Erdogan in Turkey about a decade. Trump achieved a similar level of institutional strangulation in just a year.” In the United States, the destruction of standards is proceeding at a speed previously reserved for military coups.
Currently, a record number of 44 countries are dismantling freedom using the “legalistic authoritarianism playbook.” Today's dictators rarely need tanks on the streets. They start by muzzling the media and freedom of expression – it is freedom of expression that has deteriorated in 44 countries over the last decade. Without access to the truth, democracy loses its raison d'être. Lindberg repeats that this system dies with lies: “If you can lie about what you did in office, the accountability of the government ceases to exist.” When public debate is replaced by alternative realities, the foundation for free elections simply disappears.
Europe is not immune to these symptoms. Seven European Union countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and Italy, are on the path of autocratization, which undermines the coherence of the entire community project. Autocracy has established itself in the living rooms of Brussels and Rome. Lindberg notes with concern: “We have never before seen so many countries becoming autocratic at the same time. The scale of this retreat is much worse today than in the 1930s.”
Poland has become a global laboratory of democratic resilience
In this dark landscape, Poland appears as one of the few reasons for hope. The 2026 Report identifies us as a leader in the “U-turn” phenomenon – a sharp return to the path of freedom. Polish society has proven that this process can be reversed at the ballot box, and damaged institutions can be rebuilt thanks to civic determination. Poland has become a global laboratory of democratic resilience, showing that autocratization does not have to be a sentence.
Still, the global data is overwhelming. The current wave of autocratization covers 41 percent. world population. Modern opponents of freedom effectively use digital tools to control the population, and media censorship already affects 73 percent of countries in the regression phase. Authoritarian forces learn from each other, creating an effective international support network.
The conclusions from the tenth edition of the report are not theoretical considerations, but the hard reality of a world in which 74 percent population lives in autocracies. Democracy requires daily maintenance. Lack of concern for freedom of speech, dehumanization of opponents or bending the law “for the greater good” opens doors that cannot be closed later.
The “Great Ungluing” is the most likely scenario for most of the planet's inhabitants today. The example of the USA shows that institutions can crumble in a few years. The example of Poland proves that you can come back from the edge, even though the path is steep. The key question is: how much are we willing to sacrifice to maintain this freedom? Passivity has become a form of consent. The V-Dem 2026 report is the last warning before a night that may last a long time. The margin for error has just run out. Stopping this process of destruction is up to us.
