PM Modi’s India Identified as Primary Driver of Global Democratic Decay in New V-Dem Report

Beyond the media, the Modi administration is noted for attacks on civil society and the political opposition.

RMN News Political Desk
New Delhi | March 18, 2026

India, the world’s most populous nation, is now a leading “electoral autocracy” and a primary driver of the global deterioration of democracy, according to the V-Dem Institute’s latest findings. As of the end of 2025, India is identified as one of the four most populous countries—alongside China, Indonesia, and Pakistan—that are currently classified as autocracies.

The V-Dem 2026 Democracy Report, titled “Unraveling the Democratic Era?”, highlights a “slow but systematic dismantling of democratic institutions” in India that has been underway since 2009. This process of “derailing democracy” is attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The report specifically cites a deterioration in freedom of expression, a loss of media independence, and the harassment of journalists who criticize the government as key indicators of this decline.

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Professor Staffan I. Lindberg, lead author of the report, emphasizes that the autocratization of populous nations like India is “especially worrying”. He warns that these countries possess the political and economic weight to reshape international organizations, global norms, and trade, effectively altering the global order. This shift is significant because electoral autocracies are now the most populous regime type, housing 46% of the world’s population.

Beyond the media, the Modi administration is noted for attacks on civil society and the political opposition. These tactics align with a broader global pattern identified by V-Dem, where freedom of expression is the most frequent target for autocratizing leaders, followed by the erosion of the rule of law and institutional checks and balances.

While the report notes that some nations like Brazil and Poland are successfully democratizing, the scale of India’s decline continues to have a disproportionate impact on the global democratic landscape.