CIVICUS Warns of a “Rapid Authoritarian Shift” in the U.S., Downgrades Civic Space to “Obstructed”

The United States is showing signs of a “rapid authoritarian shift,” CIVICUS — an international civil society network — warns in a new report that downgrades the country’s civic space rating from “narrowed” to “obstructed.” The assessment, produced with 20 partner organisations, comes months after the U.S. was added to a global human rights watchlist earlier this year.

What CIVICUS Found

CIVICUS evaluates civic space using five categories — closed, repressed, obstructed, narrowed and open — to describe how freely people can exercise rights of expression, assembly and association. The group says an “obstructed” rating means the full enjoyment of civic rights is constrained through both legal and practical measures: state authorities may undermine civil society with illegal surveillance, bureaucratic harassment and demeaning public commentary, while peaceful organisers face a real risk of frequent excessive force by law enforcement.

“Long-established democracies are showing signs of rapid authoritarian shift, marked by weakened rule of law and growing constraints on independent civil society. Argentina and the USA exemplified this trend,” the report says.

Key Factors Behind the Downgrade

The CIVICUS report cites several U.S. developments that contributed to the downgrade, including:

• Executive Actions: The group says a series of unprecedented executive orders by President Donald Trump have sought to roll back institutional checks, international cooperation and mechanisms of international justice.
• Militarised Responses To Protests: The report highlights deployments of federal forces and mass National Guard mobilisations — including the summer deployment of thousands of Guard members and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles after immigration raids sparked protests. A federal judge later ruled in September that that deployment violated longstanding federal law, finding the Administration "systematically used armed soldiers" for law-enforcement purposes.
• Targeting Of Activists And Visa Revocations: CIVICUS points to moves to rescind student visas under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act — a law the group calls “archaic and obscure” — with the Administration saying it revoked hundreds of visas this summer citing “support for terrorism.” The report cites the arrest of nearly 100 protesters at a sit-in at Trump Tower calling for the release of Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil and ongoing attempts to deport him.
• Surveillance And Tech Use: The organisation flagged reports that the government used artificial intelligence and social-media screening of visa-holders under a reported “Catch and Revoke” program as an example of targeted surveillance of political dissent.
• Pressure On The Press: CIVICUS documented escalating government pressure on media through public denunciations of outlets and journalists, legal challenges against news organisations, tighter restrictions on White House and Pentagon access, and related consequences such as program cancellations and funding cuts.
• Funding Cuts To Public Media: The report notes a summer package of legislation that rescinded $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), prompting the nonprofit to begin winding down some operations that have long supported NPR, PBS and local public stations.

Wider Context

The CIVICUS assessment places the U.S. decline in a broader global trend: only 39 of the 198 nations and territories assessed retain an “open” civic space rating, meaning nearly three in four people live where civic space is restricted. Several other major democracies, including France, Germany and Italy, were also downgraded from “narrowed” to “obstructed,” and countries such as Argentina, Israel and Switzerland saw declines as well.

CIVICUS last rated the United States as “obstructed” in 2020 — during President Trump’s first term — and again in 2021, before the rating improved later in President Joe Biden’s administration. The new downgrade underscores, the group says, a renewed set of pressures on civil society and democratic institutions.

Methodology Note: The CIVICUS report was produced in collaboration with 20 civil society partners and uses a standardized framework to assess legal environments, civic freedoms and practical constraints on civic life.

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