The world reached historic levels of democracy under the rules-based order, though that trend has reversed

Roughly half of the world's nations are (relatively young) electoral democracies

Classifying countries by governance type involves leaning into technical systems like the Regimes of the World classification. In this data dive, see a map of the world's oldest and youngest electoral democracies, as well as liberal democracies (which are measured by the protection of minorities and checks on executive power from the legislature).

After the USSR's fall, many experts believed liberal democracy had permanently prevailed

Political scientist Francis Fukuyama argued in 1992 that liberal democracy and market capitalism had defeated their ideological opponents and would eventually spread everywhere—a thesis he called "the end of history." Subsequent decades complicated that claim.

Visualize every time Congress has mentioned the word 'democracy' since 1880, and why

This Pudding interactive analyzes every mention of "democracy" in the Congressional Record over 145 years, charting how the word shifted from a partisan label to a concept, and tracking when lawmakers warned the system itself was under threat.

Relationships between countries have become more peaceful since the rules-based order was established

Our World in Data monitors bilateral relationships on a spectrum from open rivalry to "positive peace"—deep cooperation and mutual protection. In 1945, no countries had highly cooperative security relationships. Today, nearly a fifth do.

Global support for free speech and press freedom has declined since 2019

A 2025 Pew Research survey found that the share of people worldwide who consider free speech and press freedom important has declined over the past several years, even though majorities in most countries still say these rights matter.

Proponents argue that abandoning the rules-based order risks a return to the chaos that led to 2 world wars

Brookings scholar Robert Kagan warns that if China and Russia gain regional dominance, the world could return to the unstable conditions of the late 19th century—the same chaos that led to two devastating world wars.

The world rapidly decolonized after World War II, with roughly a hundred new countries emerging between 1945 and 1989.

Decolonization isn't complete, as nearly 2 million people were living in UN-designated non-self-governing territories as of 2023.

During the Cold War, the rules-based order was largely limited to the West

The Soviet Union and its allies operated outside the Bretton Woods institutions, meaning the postwar liberal order functioned as a regional rather than a truly global system. This changed with the USSR's collapse in 1991.

How global conditions have improved over 200 years

In an era of 24-hour news, it can feel as if the world is on a perpetual downward spiral. This set of visualizations zoom out, and show how global living conditions have improved in recent centuries. The percentage of people living in extreme...

John Mearsheimer argued that the liberal international order was bound to fail

University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer argued in his influential essay Bound to Fail that expanding liberal democracy and open markets into other great powers' spheres inevitably leads to conflict, and that the liberal order contains the roots of its own collapse.

The world is shifting from unipolarity toward a multipolar order

The post-Cold War world was briefly unipolar after 1991, with the US standing alone as a global superpower following decades of US-Soviet bipolarity. Analysts increasingly describe today's order as multipolar, with China, Russia, the US, and regional powers all competing for influence.

The 2020 and 2024 elections ranked among the highest-turnout contests in over a century

Voter turnout reached 66% in 2020—the highest since 1908—and 64% in 2024, tied for second-highest with 1960. In 2024, Trump benefited from higher turnout among his prior voters and new voters.

Global population growth peaked six decades ago, at 2.3%.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine accelerated fractures in the rules-based international order

This piece examines how the Ukraine conflict intensified underlying divisions in the global order—between Western democracies and the Global South, and between rule-of-law norms and great-power politics.

China is now viewed more favorably than the US in a majority of 36 countries surveyed this year.

Eight demographic trends to watch

This list highlights eight demographic trends expected to shape the world in the coming decades. The world’s population is projected to hit 9 billion in 2037. In that time, India will overtake China in population, and the Democratic Republic of...

China's relationship to the rules-based order is contested

In this piece, Paul Gewirtz, a professor of constitutional law at Yale Law School, argues that China has been a beneficiary, a rule-bender, and an increasingly assertive challenger of the rules-based order, aiming to revise norms it sees as reflecting Western rather than universal values.

The world's most (and least) corrupt countries

The annual index measuring every country's relative levels of corruption. In 2022, Denmark earned the top spot for transparency, with Sudan, Syria, and Somalia identified as having the highest levels of corruption in the public sector. The rankings...

The World Bank, IMF, and WTO all face calls for structural reform

Researchers argue that all three major institutions face legitimacy and effectiveness challenges, including outdated governance structures, unequal voting power, and difficulty adapting to a more multipolar world.

The American Revolution became a template for a colonized world

The robust and radical transformation during the American Revolution created a template for dozens of future independence movements. Its key ideas of republicanism, individualism, and equality inspired revolutions in France, Haiti, Ireland, and more, paving the way for the broadly democratic world we know today.

There were fewer competitive districts in 2022 than at any point since 1970

Analysts reported that the 2022 midterms featured the lowest share of competitive congressional districts since 1970, reflecting how modern redistricting has increasingly produced safe seats and reduced voter choice.

How failures at Versailles Conference led to more racial inequality

Suffering a pandemic and the aftermath of a war that killed 50 million, the world in 1920 faced a turning point as it negotiated a new political order. As today, the key issue was racial inequality.

Soviet control spread across Eastern Europe after WWII

In the late 1940s, the USSR solidified control over Eastern Europe by installing pro-communist regimes in countries like Poland, Hungary and Romania—often through rigged elections and political repression.

The failures of the interwar period made the case for a new international system

After World War I, countries devalued their currencies, raised tariffs to block imports, and seized territory unchecked, with the international community unable to organize effectively to stop them. The result was a global depression and, eventually, another world war.

Communist governments across Eastern Europe fell in 1989

In 1989, a series of mostly peaceful uprisings led to the collapse of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. Protests and political shifts in countries like Poland, East Germany and Czechoslovakia marked the end of Soviet dominance in the region.

Watergate-era reforms restricted the power of the presidency

Watergate ushered in sweeping changes. Agencies were required to release information openly, officials had to disclose finances transparently, and new laws limited conflicts of interest. The reforms also established independent oversight of ethics and safeguarded presidential records, curbing abuse and boosting accountability.

Some experts argue that Russia was never effectively integrated into the rules-based order after 1991

This piece argues that Russia's difficult relationship with the IMF and World Bank in the 1990s—characterized by economic shocks and perceived Western condescension—helped shape Moscow's later hostility toward the liberal order.

The global nuclear arms regime has slowly eroded over the past few decades

Both Russia and the United States have withdrawn from key Cold War-era arms-control pacts. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point, as it suspended its participation in inspections and data-sharing agreements.

Explore 100 years of communism across the globe, from the 1917 October Revolution to North Korea's modern nuclear defiance.

Countries with either very low or very high religious diversity tend to be more peaceful

Research found a correlation between a country's relative stability and whether it has either very low or very high levels of religious diversity. Countries in the middle range—with moderate diversity and active competition between groups—show higher levels of conflict.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.

This interactive tool from the National Constitution Center allows you to compare constitutional rights globally, highlighting which countries have adopted protections similar to those in the US Constitution—and how shared principles manifest in different legal forms around the world.

How did China go from an empire to a republic?

In the 1800s, as China's economy was in flux, foreign imperialist powers began appearing on the horizon, leading China to lose land and influence in the region. This 48-minute podcast episode explores how this destabilization set the stage for the...

Renewed competition between great powers is straining multilateral institutions

This analysis argues that the increasing US-China rivalry is fostering a more contested international environment—where shared rules and institutions are being challenged rather than reinforced.

Tennis' global evolution

In the 1970s and 1980s, American men and women dominated the top 100 rankings on both tours. But as each tour expanded its global reach, the American dominance declined. This Bleacher Report analysis breaks down the national make-up of the top 100 players for each decade. View maps that show which country gained and lost rankings through each decade and see who is the top country now.

Women lost legal rights after the revolution, despite educational gains

The revolution rolled back women's legal protections, including the Family Protection Law, and imposed the mandatory hijab. Paradoxically, women later achieved significant educational gains, with university enrollment and literacy rates dramatically improving.

What are the human rights issues facing the world today?

This video debates the modern relevance of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The world has seen multiple examples of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity since the document was signed over 70 years ago. Now, many...

While studies have shown that voter fraud in the US is extremely rare, its elections are considered the 35th fairest in the world according to the 2025 Free and Fair Elections Index—a list topped by Belgium and Norway.

See the polio cases that occur worldwide each year by region

Worldwide, the number of cases of polio reported each year from 1980 to 2024 has declined. This graphic depicts regional trends and declines by year.

Watergate led to the prosecution of nearly 50 individuals

Watergate ushered in sweeping changes. Agencies were required to release information openly; officials had to disclose finances transparently; and new laws limited conflicts of interest, established independent ethics oversight, and safeguarded presidential records—curbing abuse and boosting accountability.

7 experts debate China's role in the future of the rules-based international order

This interactive feature showcases opposing arguments—from scholars who view China as a major threat to the order, to Chinese analyst Wu Xinbo's argument that China will shape the order's evolution rather than destroy it.

Critics argue that the World Bank, IMF, and WTO were designed to serve Western interests

Some analysts from developing nations argue that the Bretton Woods institutions were designed to reinforce Western economic dominance rather than to promote fair development for poorer countries. Supporters respond that these institutions have improved living standards worldwide.

How public policy shapes demographic trends

This IMF podcast explores the population booms and busts throughout human history. According to Harvard economist and demographer David Bloom, it took more than 50,000 years for the world population to reach 1 billion. But since 1960, we have added...

Four global trends in shifting demographics

This UN summary outlines four global trends in shifting demographics. The world’s population is expected to peak by the end of the century as fertility rates continue to decline. Between now and 2050, the global population is projected to become...

Thousands of constitutional amendments have failed

Of nearly 12,000 proposed constitutional amendments, only 27 were ratified. This article highlights radical failed proposals that would have renamed the country, abolished the presidency, capped personal wealth, or fundamentally rewritten how American democracy works.

Travel in time to how people felt about major US events

Pollsters track more than just politics: From civil rights to war declarations, go back and see how people felt about major events in the US with this timeline.

Mid-decade redistricting is historically rare in modern US history

States have generally redrawn districts only once per decade following the census, with mid-decade redistricting occurring infrequently and usually prompted by court orders or unusual political circumstances.

As of 2022, Congress was more ideologically polarized than at any point in 50 years

Research from the Pew Research Center indicates that Democrat and Republican lawmakers have become more ideologically unified internally while moving further apart overall—with Republicans shifting to the right faster than Democrats have shifted to the left.

Facebook launched its 'like' button and Twitter its 'retweet' button in 2009, innovations psychologist Jonathan Haidt argues rewired social media to reward outrage over accuracy.

The US framework of government has influenced the constitutions of many other countries

In 1787, the US Constitution introduced a system built on the separation of powers and individual liberties, including freedom of speech and religion. Though widely influential, its rigidity has made it less of a modern model as countries adopt more adaptable constitutional frameworks.

How the Arab Spring engulfed the Middle East – and changed the world

The Arab Spring engulfed the Middle East, unleashing consequences that still shape the world today. In 2011, the Arab Spring began with protests in a small Tunisian city. Those protests led to an era of uprisings and civil war in the Arab world,...