Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Students enrolled in our course are encouraged to write for the course blog, and to read and comment on posts from students at other participating universities. The blog offers students the opportunity to analyze current events through the lens of the theory and case studies they engage with through the course.

These blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Democracy Dying by Law : A Case study of Poland’s Under PiS Era

Still water runs deep. Have you ever heard of this phrase? It means that the surface may look calm, but there is some powerful force moving underneath. What if this was happening in real life? That force has a name: stealth authoritarianism. That force wears a mask...

The New Nepal: A Model or An Outlier?

Recent uprisings in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Madagascar (just to name a few) have highlighted younger generations’ demands for anticorruption and better political representation. Specifically, the 2025 uprising in Nepal illustrates GenZ’s potential for...

Challenging Erdoğan’s Autocracy: Resistance to Democratic Erosion in Türkiye

Resistance to the Erdoğan regime in Türkiye has maintained a presence in local and national government, found multigenerational support in academia, and been energized by young Turks looking for a more democratic future for their home.

Elimination of Accountability in Nicaragua under the Ortega regime

May 5, 2026 | James Madison University

Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega has seen its presidential republic downgraded from a competitive democracy to an authoritarian regime, where the government has been more...

Democratic Erosion in Chile (1963-1975)

May 4, 2026 | Tulane University

Chile between the period of 1964 and 1975 represents a great example of how democracy can be eroded through both internal failure, but mainly through the planned efforts of...

After Orbán: Should the EU be shifting its sights to Bulgaria?

May 4, 2026 | Suffolk University

Victor Orbán, a pain in the European Union’s side, is no longer in office. Although, the EU cannot celebrate just yet, as Rumen Radev might have just taken his place. After nearly 10 years as...

Two Presidents Walk into a Room: Daniel Noboa and Donald Trump’s Relationship

May 4, 2026 | Tulane University

The security crisis of Latin America is a discussion consistently making its way on both the world stage and domestic politics. What is not a constant is the introduction of the relatively quiet...

The 2026 Midterms as an Institutional Test

May 2, 2026 | Boston University

Orbán Lost. But Did Democracy Win? Hungary’s Election and the Limits of Electoral Recovery

May 1, 2026 | Suffolk University

On April 12 2026 Viktor Orbán's sixteen-year grip on Hungary ended. This is when Péter Magyar's Tisza party won a landslide securing a two-thirds supermajority in parliament. The same threshold...

Democratic Erosion and the Far-Right in Post-Estallido Chile

May 1, 2026 | Tulane University

A fundamental question haunts any serious analysis of Chile's recent political trajectory: did the democratic erosion now visibly accelerating under the far-right begin with the mass mobilizations...

When Saving Democracy Looks Like Killing It: Romania’s Election Crisis and the Paradox of Militant Democracy

May 1, 2026 | Suffolk University

In December 2024, Romania's Constitutional Court did something almost without precedent in modern European history: it annulled the first round of a presidential election 48 hours before the second...

How the Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Impacts American Democracy

Apr 30, 2026 | Suffolk University

In July 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a landmark decision granting presidents broad immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office. In Trump v. United States...

El Salvador: Trading Checks and Balances for Saftey

Apr 30, 2026 | Suffolk University

Resistances to Democratic Backsliding in Indonesia

Apr 30, 2026 | James Madison University

Indonesia has experienced continuous democratic backsliding since 2017. Despite pervasive executive aggrandizement and other continuing challenges, domestic actors have worked from above and below...