2026 Midterms a ‘Critical Test’ for US Democracy as Ranking Plummets

Democracy in the United States is declining faster than in any other modern democracy, according to a major new global report warning that democratic norms are weakening across many parts of the Western world. The findings come in the 2026 Democracy Report by the V?Dem Institute at the University of Gothenburg, which says that nearly a quarter of the world’s countries have become less democratic. Among them are several powerful nations—including the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy. “The 2026 American midterm elections will be a critical test for the quality of elections, and democracy, in the United States….