{"id":55432,"date":"2026-10-07T11:16:46","date_gmt":"2026-10-07T11:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/?p=55432"},"modified":"2026-10-07T11:41:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T11:41:21","slug":"suggested-reading-portugal-is-less-democratic-than-a-decade-ago-report-warns-of-the-risk-of-autocratization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/en\/suggested-reading-portugal-is-less-democratic-than-a-decade-ago-report-warns-of-the-risk-of-autocratization\/","title":{"rendered":"Suggested reading: Portugal is less democratic than a decade ago. Report warns of the risk of autocratization"},"content":{"rendered":"

Portugal is less democratic than a decade ago. Report warns of the risk of autocratization<\/h2>\n

Original text from the newspaper ECO<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In an article published on 20 August 2026, the newspaper ECO highlighted the findings on Portugal in V-Dem\u2019s Democracy Report 2026. Despite remaining classified as a liberal democracy and ranking 26th in the Liberal Democracy Index, the country has experienced a deterioration in democratic quality over the past decade and has been added to the watchlist of countries at risk of autocratization.<\/p>\n

The article discusses the analysis by Tiago Fernandes (Iscte) and Sara Pina (Lus\u00f3fona University), who identify an increase in pro-autocratic mobilization since 2020 and a decline in the quality of democratic deliberation. One concerning sign is the diminishing value political elites place on opposing arguments amid growing polarization.<\/p>\n

The researchers nevertheless stress the resilience of Portugal\u2019s democratic institutions and the role of civil society in resisting potential processes of autocratization. The diversity of citizens\u2019 movements remains an important resource for defending democracy, although weaknesses persist in its participatory and egalitarian dimensions.<\/p>\n

Read the <\/em>full article in ECO<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In an article published on 20 August 2026, the newspaper ECO highlighted the findings on Portugal in V-Dem\u2019s Democracy Report 2026. Despite remaining classified as a liberal democracy and ranking 26th in the Liberal Democracy Index, the country has experienced a deterioration in democratic quality over the past decade and has been added to the watchlist of countries at risk of autocratization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":55434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[319,355,353],"class_list":["post-55432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-press","tag-democracia-en","tag-portugal","tag-v-dem","category-308","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\nPortugal is less democratic than a decade ago | ODRP-Iscte<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"According to the V-Dem Democracy Report, Portugal remains a liberal democracy but shows signs of deterioration and a risk of autocratization.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/en\/suggested-reading-portugal-is-less-democratic-than-a-decade-ago-report-warns-of-the-risk-of-autocratization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Portugal is less democratic than a decade ago | ODRP-Iscte\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to the V-Dem Democracy Report, Portugal remains a liberal democracy but shows signs of deterioration and a risk of autocratization.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/en\/suggested-reading-portugal-is-less-democratic-than-a-decade-ago-report-warns-of-the-risk-of-autocratization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Observat\u00f3rio da Democracia e da Representa\u00e7\u00e3o Pol\u00edtica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/observatorio.democracia.representacao.politica\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-07T11:16:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-10-07T11:41:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Fotografia-a-preto-e-branco-819x1024.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"819\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ObservatorioDemocracia-Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Observatorioda4\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Observatorioda4\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ObservatorioDemocracia-Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/en\/suggested-reading-portugal-is-less-democratic-than-a-decade-ago-report-warns-of-the-risk-of-autocratization\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/en\/suggested-reading-portugal-is-less-democratic-than-a-decade-ago-report-warns-of-the-risk-of-autocratization\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ObservatorioDemocracia-Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/observatorio-democracia.pt\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/ab1878e95a55730f5159ccf3d9ba4ba7\"},\"headline\":\"Suggested reading: Portugal is less democratic than a decade ago. 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