Trusted news agencies tracing tendencies of democratisation and autocratisation globally

Our Story and Contact

According to the “Democracy Report 2025” by the internationally renowned V-Dem project, “liberal democracies have become the least common regime type in the world,” and “nearly 3 out of 4 persons in the world – 72% – now live in autocracies. This is the highest since 1978.”

This is the context in which the Democracy News Alliance (DNA) was formed. We are a project of leading international news agencies, and we present on this website an innovative information service for the systematic global monitoring and presentation of developments around democracy.

The Democracy News Alliance (DNA) is a joint project of Agence France-Presse (AFP, France), Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA, Italy), The Canadian Press (CP, Canada), Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa, Germany), and PA Media (United Kingdom). The Associated Press (AP, USA) is providing editorial support for the project (read more: https://democracy-news.org/resources). 

The news service on this website and in the accompanying newsletter is specifically tailored to the information needs of international organizations, NGOs, think tanks, foundations, government agencies, and corporations. It enables decision-makers to recognize and analyze developments towards autocratic tendencies as well as signs of democratic improvement at an early stage.

The editorial selection is based on a scientifically validated system of indicators. With the help of 106 individual indicators, structural changes in key areas of democratic order can be systematically and continuously monitored and classified. These indicators are based on the indicators that are used by leading political scientists (read more: https://democracy-news.org/indicators).

The Democracy News Alliance is aiming to fill a major gap with this offering – a gap that exists between the minute-by-minute media publications, which rapidly change topics, and the rather lengthy publication cycles in which researchers release their new findings on politics, society, and democracy. 

On this website, the DNA reports on developments in important areas such as freedom of expression, fairness of elections, gender equality, or political corruption, also when a country is not the subject of breaking news coverage. The reporting of DNA is intended to help people to make well-informed decisions, for example, in political discussions or when deciding on investments.

Are you interested in our reporting? 

You can access it as a customer of one of the participating agencies. Arrange a trial subscription – our sales teams are happy to answer all your questions regarding terms, contract periods, and usage rights.