Weekly early-warning intelligence on democratic backsliding, institutional erosion, and state capture — tracking V-Dem and Freedom House signals before annual indices catch up. Published every Monday.
The V-Dem 2026 identification of the United States as the fastest autocratizing democracy in modern comparative politics represents a structural shift in the geography of democratic erosion and underm
Read briefing →The V-Dem 2026 identification of the United States as the fastest autocratizing democracy in modern comparative politics represents a structural shift in the geography of democratic erosion and underm
Read briefing →The 2026 US midterms represent the most significant electoral integrity stress test in a consolidated democracy since the V-Dem ERT dataset began in 1900. The combination of 75+ career official purges
Read briefing →Georgia third foreign-funding law package combined with criminal prosecution of eight opposition leaders and Constitutional Court petition targeting entire nine-party opposition alliance represents th
Read briefing →Georgia third foreign-funding law package combined with criminal prosecution of eight opposition leaders and Constitutional Court petition targeting entire nine-party opposition alliance represents th
Read briefing →The criminalisation of journalism represents a qualitative shift in press freedom suppression mechanisms globally, enabling regimes to maintain electoral autocracy classifications while suppressing pr
Read briefing →United States has crossed threshold into electoral democracy status with structural risks to multiple democratic pillars
Read briefing →Hungary exemplifies autocratisation from within via institutional capture
Read briefing →US faces rapid institutional decay with vdem_ert_active across multiple pillars
Read briefing →US institutional capture accelerates autocratization risking FIMI vulnerability
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