Democracy watchdog warns US overreach and aid cuts have emboldened strongmen and weakened reformers worldwide…reports Asian Lite News
Democracy campaigners have warned that US President Donald Trump’s first six months in office have undermined global efforts to defend democracy, emboldening populist strongmen and weakening reformers across the world.
The warning came on Thursday from the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), an intergovernmental watchdog that tracks democratic trends, in its annual Global State of Democracy report. It said the combination of sweeping executive overreach and deep cuts to foreign aid under Trump has eroded democratic norms at home and shaken confidence abroad in the United States as a model for open government.
Between January and April 2025, IDEA said it issued 20 alerts documenting democratic backsliding in the United States — twice the number it had raised during any of the two previous full years. These included cases where the Trump administration sought to restrict academic freedom, criminalise protest activity, challenge the legitimacy of certified elections, selectively limit media access, and bypass constitutional checks and balances.
“In less than six months, US domestic political institutions have lost much of their symbolic sheen, increasingly serving as a reference point for executive overreach and offering more encouragement to populist strongman leaders than to pro-democracy hopefuls,” the report said.
The watchdog argued that Washington’s weakening democratic reputation is particularly damaging because the United States has historically been seen as both a sponsor and an example of democratic consolidation.
Trump’s insistence on applying his “America First” doctrine to foreign policy has also had sweeping consequences for global development programmes. His administration froze and then cut billions of dollars in foreign aid, insisting US taxpayers’ money should only fund projects aligned with his priorities.
The sharp cutbacks have effectively paralysed the US Agency for International Development (USAID), once the largest development agency in the world. According to research published in The Lancet, the collapse in funding could contribute to more than 14 million additional deaths worldwide by 2030, as essential health, nutrition and governance projects are wound down.
Analysts warned that the withdrawal of US support has not only created gaps in humanitarian relief but also weakened pro-democracy initiatives in fragile states. “Without US backing, many local reformers are now isolated, while illiberal governments feel emboldened to close civic space without fear of international pushback,” said one regional democracy advocate quoted in the report.
The IDEA report also showed that democratic standards were in retreat worldwide even before Trump took office again, but suggested his policies have accelerated the decline.
Its global democracy index recorded a ninth consecutive year of deterioration in 2024. More than half of all countries — 54 percent — slipped backwards compared to five years earlier in at least one key indicator, ranging from free and fair elections to judicial independence and freedom of expression.
The downturn was starkest in last year’s electoral “super-cycle”, when 1.6 billion people voted in elections across dozens of countries. IDEA found that the credibility of elections had fallen to its lowest point in three decades, with a fifth of the 173 states surveyed registering declines in electoral integrity.
Democracy advocates warned that Trump’s actions at home and abroad risk sending the wrong signal to leaders who already harbour authoritarian ambitions.
By challenging the legitimacy of elections in the US itself, they said, the Trump administration has handed autocrats a new excuse to question opposition victories and cling to power. By slashing aid, it has deprived civil society groups of lifelines needed to counter corruption and authoritarianism.
“What happens in Washington no longer just sets an example — it sets a precedent,” IDEA said. “Populist leaders around the world are now pointing to the United States to justify executive overreach.”
Despite the grim findings, IDEA argued that democracy is not beyond repair. To halt the slide, it urged governments to recommit to protecting core institutions — including independent courts, fair elections and free media — while also reforming governance to ensure fairness, inclusion and shared prosperity.
“Democracy must not only survive but deliver,” the report concluded. “Only by addressing inequality and restoring trust in political institutions can democratic systems hope to compete with the appeal of populist shortcuts.”
The findings will add pressure on Washington to rethink its approach to foreign aid and democratic support. Critics of Trump’s strategy argue that reducing America’s global footprint may save money in the short term but risks fuelling instability and conflict that could eventually drag the US back into expensive crises.
For now, however, IDEA’s report paints a sobering picture of a world in which the United States — once the loudest champion of democracy — is now cited as a warning sign of how quickly democratic guardrails can crumble.
