The assessment is made by over 700 political scientists, who have been given the task of rating the American democracy on a scale from zero (complete dictatorship) to 100 (perfect democracy), reports NPR.
In November when Donald Trump was elected president, researchers gave American democracy a score of 67. With more than 100 days into Trump's second term, the figure has dropped to 55.
It's a steep decline. There is a consensus that we are moving in the wrong direction, says John Carey, professor of political science and one of the authors behind the report from Bright line watch.
Several researchers who say that Trump has authoritarian tendencies think that the American democracy will be able to withstand the pressure.
We have slid into some form of authoritarian rule. It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly possible to turn it around, but we no longer live in a liberal democracy, says Steven Levitsky, professor at Harvard University and co-author of the bestseller "How democracies die".
The USA is compared to countries like Turkey and Hungary, where a leader is elected democratically, but then undermines the system. This is done by, among other things, filling the judiciary with loyal individuals, attacking the media and limiting the space for non-governmental organizations and universities in order to silence criticism.
