Concerns over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow - NPR
Staffan I. Lindberg, the director of Sweden's V-Dem Institute, which monitors democracy across the globe, says the U.S. has already crossed the threshold and become an "electoral autocracy."
Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard University and co-author of How Democracies Die, agrees.
"I would argue that the United States in 2025-26 has slid into a mild form of competitive authoritarianism," Levitsky said. "I think it's reversible, but this is authoritarianism."
Under competitive authoritarianism, countries still hold elections, but the ruling party uses various tactics — attacking the press, disenfranchising voters, weaponizing the justice system and threatening critics — to tilt the electoral playing field in its favor.
https://www.npr.org/2026/02/16/nx-s1-5705955/us-autocracy-concerns-grow
It official.