US Swing Toward Autocracy Doesn’t Have To Be Permanent – But Swinging Back To Democracy Requires Vigilance, Stamina And Elections
A U.S. Department of Education employee leaving the building on March 20, 2025, the day President Donald Trump signed an executive order to abolish the agency. Win McNamee/Getty Images BY JENNIFER VICTOR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY The United States is no longer a democracy . At least, that’s the verdict of one nonprofit, the Center for Systemic Peace , which measures regime qualities of countries worldwide based on the competitiveness and integrity of their elections, limits to executive authority and other factors. “The USA is no longer considered a democracy and lies at the cusp of autocracy,” the group’s 2025 report read. It calls Donald Trump’s second inauguration following a raft of criminal indictments and convictions, combined with the U.S. Supreme Court’s July 2024 granting of sweeping presidential immunity, a “ presidential coup .” Generally, only scholars pay attention to this kind of technical index. This year, however, many ...
