Archive · Published scorecard
February 2026 recorded 8.4 / 10.
February held the index in a critical range, with sustained structural stress around court compliance, detention due process, coercive state power, and election governance.
CriticalFebruary 2026 published scorecardDirection +0.2
Why this period mattered
The February scorecard described democratic institutions as operational but under sustained structural stress. The strongest pressure appeared around court compliance, detention due process, and election governance, with several immediate redline indicators listed as escalation triggers if they moved from warning signs into open constitutional breach.
Key score drivers
Court compliance
The published scorecard placed Rule of Law & Court Compliance at 8.5, one of the highest category readings.
The published scorecard placed Rule of Law & Court Compliance at 8.5, one of the highest category readings.
Due process and habeas access
Habeas Corpus & Due Process was also recorded at 8.5, making procedural rights a central score driver.
Habeas Corpus & Due Process was also recorded at 8.5, making procedural rights a central score driver.
Coercive state power
Coercive State Power reached 8.0, keeping state authority and enforcement posture in the severe-erosion band.
Coercive State Power reached 8.0, keeping state authority and enforcement posture in the severe-erosion band.
Election governance
Election Integrity was recorded at 7.6, signaling that election administration was already a material risk category before March.
Election Integrity was recorded at 7.6, signaling that election administration was already a material risk category before March.
Key evidence and benchmark events
- The February scorecard recorded Rule of Law & Court Compliance at 8.5.
- Habeas Corpus & Due Process was also recorded at 8.5.
- Coercive State Power was recorded at 8.0, keeping state-power risk in the severe-erosion range.
- Election Integrity was recorded at 7.6 as an active governance risk category.
- The scorecard listed immediate escalation triggers including open defiance of a final Supreme Court order, functional habeas inaccessibility, federal override of certified election results, criminal charges against journalists for reporting, and intelligence use for domestic political surveillance.
Methodology note
This page preserves a published-scorecard month inside the current archive system. The formal report translates that scorecard record into the same public report structure used for later monthly reports.
Archive page for February 2026.