V-Dem Institute
Swedish democracy-research institute; downgraded the US from liberal democracy in 2026; tracks 202 countries.
Last refreshed: 7 May 2026
Does the Callais ruling validate V-Dem's democratic backsliding assessment of the United States?
Timeline for V-Dem Institute
Callais guts VRA Section 2 mandate
US Midterms 2026Senate confirms Smith to 8th Circuit
US Midterms 2026- Why did V-Dem downgrade the United States to electoral democracy?
- V-Dem cited executive branch pressure on courts, press freedom erosions, and restrictions on civil society. The US Liberal Democracy Index ranking fell from 20th to 51st in a single year — a 24% score decline the Institute called unprecedented.Source: V-Dem Institute 2026 report
- What is the difference between liberal democracy and electoral democracy?
- Electoral democracies hold competitive elections but lack reliable protections for civil liberties and separation of powers. Liberal democracies require both competitive elections and robust constitutional constraints on government power.Source: V-Dem Institute
- How does V-Dem measure democracy?
- V-Dem uses more than 470 indicators assessed by roughly 4,000 country experts annually, covering electoral Integrity, rule of law, freedom of expression, and judicial independence across 202 countries.Source: V-Dem Institute
- Is V-Dem's US downgrade politically biased?
- Republican officials dismissed it as European Left-wing bias; V-Dem is a peer-reviewed academic project at the University of Gothenburg and applies the same methodology to all 202 countries, including European states.
Background
The V-Dem Institute reclassified the United States from a liberal democracy to an electoral democracy on 18 March 2026, citing executive branch pressure on courts, press freedom erosions, and restrictions on civil society. The US Liberal Democracy Index ranking fell from 20th to 51st among 179 nations in a single year, a 24% score decline the Institute described as unprecedented in its dataset spanning 200 years.
Founded in 2014 and based at the University of Gothenburg, the Varieties of Democracy project tracks political regimes across 202 countries using more than 470 indicators and draws on assessments by roughly 4,000 country experts annually. Its liberal democracy index scores states on electoral Integrity, rule of law, freedom of expression, and judicial independence. The distinction between liberal and electoral democracy is significant: electoral democracies hold competitive elections but lack reliable protections for civil liberties and separation of powers.
The downgrade entered the US midterms debate immediately, with Republican officials dismissing it as European Left-wing bias and Democratic campaigners citing it in fundraising appeals. The Supreme Court's 29 April 2026 ruling in Louisiana v. Callais — gutting the Voting Rights Act Section 2 majority-minority district mandate — is the type of institutional change V-Dem's methodology tracks as an indicator of democratic backsliding. The Institute's methodology is also cited in European tech-sovereignty debates as a benchmark for assessing whether democratic safeguards constrain digital infrastructure consolidation in autocratising states.